This assignment began by reading 5 articles about digital literacy and being smart on social media. Next, I had the choice to complete a set of activities related to cleaning up my social media feed or creating a LinkedIn profile. I chose the cleaning social media option. This involved reading 5 more articles, actually going and making changes on my social media, and making a discussion board post about what I did and why.
The first article that everyone had to read discussed how Harvard kids had their offers rescinded based on inappropriate memes, and how anything posted online is permanent. The second article discusses a course to manage online reputation, and that many young people aren’t actually that tech smart. The third article talked about the importance of digital branding, and how universities should dedicate time to talk about this. The fourth article is an infographic on what you should post on social media and reinforces that your online choices have future ramifications. The fifth article is an infographic on privacy and how you should protect your personal information.
Within the social media feed set of items, the first article was about how to avoid being fired by Facebook, including tips such as not posting while at work, and not discussing confidential things online. The second article showcased how a Penn State OL coach dropped a recruit based on his social media choices. The third article was a study on the social media accounts of surgeons and found that around three-fourths of them had no unprofessional content. The fourth article discussed how 10% of young Facebookers in a study have lost a job based on something they posted. The fifth article described how to navigate through Facebook privacy settings.
After reading all of these articles, I had to make some actual changes to my social media profiles, and I chose to do this with Facebook. I took my email and birth year off of my public profile, removed 3 pictures of my dad and me from my profile in which beer was in the picture, and changed a good number of settings, including who can see my posts, who can see my friends list, who can see posts I am tagged in, and who can post on my timeline. I made these changes to protect my privacy, and ensure that my digital image is good so I can set myself up for success in the future.
I discussed all of this information, as well as the changes I made, in my discussion board post.
Reflecting on this assignment, I thought it was very interesting, very relevant, and very important. First of all, it was interesting to read all of the articles, because I learned a lot of things I did not know. There were settings I did not know about, courses I hadn’t heard of, and stats I was astounded by.
Second, it is very relevant. In this day and age, social media is so prevalent, and all college students I know are at least somewhat involved in it. Personally, I have an Instagram, a Facebook, a Snapchat, and a LinkedIn. So, since I am involved in many sites, information about social media profiles is very relevant to my life! Even though I personally do not make a lot of posts, it is valuable to have all of the information from these articles, because it can help me rearrange my settings, and when I do post it will lead me to make good choices.
Thirdly, it is very important. Among other things, I learned that many people lose jobs because of their social media accounts. A job is one of the most important parts of a person’s life, and they should do anything in their power to protect it. So, it is important to know everything I can that will lead me to have the best social media profiles for employers and others to see. If I follow everything that has been talked about in the articles, then I can maximize my chances to secure a job, or keep a job that I already had.
Once again, it is important to note that I appreciated having a choice in which major set of activities we would take part in. For example, I did not want to do the LinkedIn option, because I already have a LinkedIn, and I do not think it would have led me to learn a ton. On the contrary, the social media cleanup taught me many small things I did not know about previously, so it was more valuable for me to take part in.
Learning about social media is great for so many reasons, and I hope that we continue to learn more and more about it throughout the duration of the course. Each year it is more and more relevant in society, so we should maximize our knowledge of it to set ourselves up for success going forward!
Nicky's Blog 