:EthRobe

At its very base, social media is a tool to further human connection. Though sites like Facebook, Twitter, pinterest, and youtube all have the ability to be professional tools (especially in terms of marketing and PR), the “social” part of  the phrase social media has a distinctive recreational connotation to it.  Social media is a way for people to connect with friends, find lovers, and meet like-minded people. It is one of my strongest beliefs that the human race is not a society of isolation; humans are structured to be communal (this is the point of my argument where I will probably lose the attention of any Ayn Rand fans).  As we become increasingly digitized as a society, social media grows in prevalence as a way we can form bonds with one another.

In any kind of human relationship, one strives to be as true to oneself as possible. Since social media is one of the largest instruments in cultivating human relationships in this day and age, it makes sense for a people to portray themselves truthfully on their twitter accounts and facebook profiles so to integrate more meaningful and truthful relationships. Any omission of truthful personality aspects may alienate a person from structuring these personal connections. It follows that one should not have to “censor” themselves or their opinions on social media, any more than they should speaking with their close friends. In order to prevent people from feeling they must “clean up” their online personalities, employers should not be allowed to “Creep” on employees’ social media profiles. At all.

In class, the counter argument to my opinion was twofold. The first part of the counter-argument stated that refraining from posting things like drunken pictures or hate-filled statuses is not exactly self-censorship; it’s just common sense. I agree. The sort of censorship I’m arguing against is much baser: people should not be afraid to post something like their political thoughts or affiliation, sexual orientation or preferences, familial statuses, and/or religious beliefs. I can attest that, at times, I refrain from discussing my politics or religion on my social media sites out of fear from being misread by “future employers.”  This is when the second part of the counter-argument comes in: “Well, employers are not allowed to discriminate on those factors, so you shouldn’t have to censor those opinions and personality traits.” Yes, employers are not allowed to inquire about a job candidate’s sexuality or religion during an interview, but the employer could discover the candidate is a leftist Lesbian Jew by creeping upon her facebook profile. These are details the employer cannot “un-see,” and even the most controlled person falls victim to subconscious factors like inherent biases and institutional racism.

To conclude, it is just better for employers to stay away from employees’ social media altogether. Humans need recreational socialization, and nowadays social media is the top way to go about it. We should not have to fear what our bosses may discover about our personal lives.

61 Comments