Two or three times this week I have seen national news programs discussing social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and how it relates to job and family. They have been talking about whether or not to “friend” or follow your kids or boss. It interests me because in all cases I would say heck NO to friending my boss on social media sites. Putting it all out there for everyone to see can get pretty dicey.
I use social media quite a bit but I try very hard not to say or do anything that will embarrass me, my family, or get me into hot water. I learned that the hard way one time when I was discussing my rather lax European-esque viewpoints on something that is not looked upon kindly in the US. After I got someone threatening to call the police on me I decided that some things just should not be shared….even if I am sooo totally right and they are sooo totally wrong. ;)
Anyway, friends recently shared a link to NetSmartz with me and I am very impressed. The object of the site is to teach kids with cartoons and videos how they can really mess things up for themselves when the are not careful on social media sites. Your boss might read about your drunken night out and fire you the next day. A college might look you up on facebook when considering your application and see your username is maryjanefan. I even read an article recently that potential employers are checking social media profiles to see if you are a gamer and then not hiring people who are. That reference to Warcraft on your Facebook page could kill potential jobs.
We all need to be careful what we put on the Internet and especially kids. This is an awesome, not cheesey way to share that message with them. So foward the site on to any kids you have that use social media to meet and make friends.
Thanks for posting about this. It’s a new world out there. I blog about my kids a lot and sometimes wonder if it is a good idea to be putting their names and pictures online. Their grandparents seem to love it, though!
Thats pretty cool. I dont have kids, but I have a co-worker who is worried about her children’s use of the internet when they are away from home (parents are separated) so this would be good for this.
Thanks for posting this.
I am a huge fan of myspace and facebook. But unlike most people I know better and only add my friends or the people I actually know. Facebook has much better privacy features and below is a link to an article that discusses them. Until I read the article I had no idea that my profile was so accessible and open for anyone to read. Heck, I didn’t even know that someone could google my name and find a link to my facebook profile. Luckily the article helped me changed all that.
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/
Thanks for the link. I’m lucky that my oldest is 6 and has no clue about social networking yet, but I know the day will come soon enough.
I do have to say that I found it interesting when one of my Facebook friends posted an “interesting” photo as her profile photo and got comments akin to “Way to turn Facebook into MySpace.” Apparently people were not too impressed and luckily she got the message and changed it back by the next day.
Thanks for the head’s up. The site looks good, but the link above is incorrect. The correct links should be http://www.netsmartz.org/netteens.htm
Thanks!