I do my best to keep my Facebook profile locked down so that it can’t be viewed publicly. Part of the reason for that is that as a foster parent I have an obligation to preserve the anonymity of the children in my home. And of course, like most other people, I am also concerned with what a future potential employer might find and pass judgment on from my profile.
Since this means that only people who I love and trust can view my Facebook profile, I am free to be myself. Admittedly though, those people who I love and trust cover a broad range of people in my life from relatives to in-laws to former coworkers and I am more reserved with some of those people when I have face-to-face communication. The face I put forward on my profile is my most polite self, while also not shying away from my strong opinions and often biting humor.
There have been occasions where a friend has tagged me in a post that is more crude than I would have shared, but I don’t make an issue of it. I also refrain from commenting on posts from my friends of that nature because I know that they will show up on my profile as something I’ve commented on. I’ve also occasionally been drawn into liking a company because of some incentive they offered, but I try to limit how that shows up on my profile. Social networks are a greta tool for keeping in touch but I try to limit what it makes public about me and avoid having that commercialized.
AnnaBeth,
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that your Facebook profile is locked down so that it cannot be viewed publicly. My Facebook page also has the same settings, as well as my Twitter account. I always think that if future job opportunities arise in my life, I am able to keep most of the things I say private. The only questionable thing that I have on my profiles is foul language (I tend to have quite the sailor mouth). Other than that, I don’t have any bad pictures or anything of that nature. Besides potential jobs looking at profiles, other people who are your Facebook friends or Twitter followers could be potential network opportunities leading to jobs, which would not be in your best interest if you had questionable things on your profiles. Great post!