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Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Scott Kolmer CCSD 543 Azusa Pacific University

SOCIAL MEDIA

A recent publication from the USA Today stated that 83% of Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use social media (Ritger, 2013). This is an extremely high percentage, which perpetuates the idea that social media is taking over our generations. College students fall within this age group, as social media has become a major hot topic on college campuses. There are extreme benefits to these different networks for a student. I personally have been able to contact professors over Facebook and have had numerous student life activities that are centered on Facebook and Instagram. Additionally I have been able to maintain professional networks with classmates and professors through LinkedIn. Clearly, there are many positives to the extreme prevalence of social media on college campuses. However, as this topic continues to grow, so do the potential issues. I will be discussing the trending topics of privacy, cyberbullying, and ethics within the context of college social media. The first trend is the growing concern with privacy. This particular topic applies to all social networking site users, however I am going to focus on those in the college settings. The two major groups that are most experiencing this issue are applicants and current employees( Myers, 2013). In regards to applicants, this affects both prospective student applicants, as well as prospective employee applicants. For student applicants, this could take a few different shapes. Privacy could refer to knowing that what they have posted and shared on social networking sites will not affect their chances at being admitted due to the content of their posts. This could also take the shape of wanting privacy to ensure that they are not being unfairly discriminated upon based on looks or any other criteria that would not be displayed in a traditional application. These are both valid concerns that potential students could be experiencing. This also leaves admissions teams in an interesting position. They have access to viewing this knowledge that

SOCIAL MEDIA

could help them identify the best candidates that can be found with a simple Google search. This creates an ethical dilemma, as it could be seen as wrong to make decisions based upon those findings. Well talk more about that later. According to a recent presentation by John Myers, 27% of admissions teams polled had googled an applicant before (Meyers, 2013). This may not seem like a huge number, but it is still a very significant amount of people. He also reported that of those who had taken to Facebook to look at applicants, 35% found something negative about the applicants. Again, this puts the admissions team in a state of ethical dilemma, and leaves the applicant in a very vulnerable place. Another side to the topic of privacy, is the question of how much privacy should be given to employees of an institution? When employees are seen as agents of the university, it creates an issue because what they may post personally could be seen as a stance or opinion of the university. Should employees be allowed to post whatever they want on their own personal social networking sites? Or is it fair to assume that they are still considered faces of their universities? These are some of the questions that are starting to trend amongst universities. In the same presentation, Myers provides an example of an admissions counselor who took to social media to mock candidates (Myers, 2013). This resulted in the employee being terminated. This shows how serious universities can take what is posted in social network sites. Is it fair to hold the employees to certain standards even outside of the workplace? It seems that the answer to that is yes, particularly in the cyber world. Undeniably, there will be more and more issues similar to this that start to surface as social media sites continue to expand. Hopefully, universities will be able to respond appropriately and establish social networking policies that are clearly outlined for their employees. Another emerging issue in regards to social networking is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can be defined as an individual or a group willfully using information and communication

SOCIAL MEDIA

involving electronic technologies to facilitate deliberate and repeated harassment or threat to another individual or group by sending or posting cruel text and/or graphics using technological means (Dilmac, 2009). Cyberbullying is something that has constantly become more prevalent as technology and social networking has expanded. In a recent study, nearly 30% of adolescents who were studied claimed to have experienced cyberbullying. A similar study found that most people believe that 67-100% of students have experienced cyberbullying (Dilmac, 2009). These are ridiculous statistics that very clearly show that cyberbullying is becoming a major problem. Even in the news, we hear more and more about people who have been bullied through social media. Unfortunately, all too often we hear about these cases because they resulted in suicides. In regards to students, cyberbullying is a very prominent thing. Often times it can be something as simple as sending a rude text message or writing a hurtful comment on Facebook. Bullying is very much in the eyes of the bullied. So although the student doing the bullying might not be intending to bully, or might not even be aware of it, it could still be making someone feel bullied. In other cases, students truly set out with bad intentions to hurt others emotionally. In a recent incident in my job in residence life, there was a roommate conflict that started and was perpetuated through technology. One roommate felt like the other roommate did not like her, so she used technology from her cell phone and secretly recorded private conversations from the other roommates in an attempt to catch them talking about her. This example shows how influential technology can be in the smallest of things in student affairs. It brings the question back to privacy and what should be considered private or not, now that technology and social media exposes nearly all moments of life. Another side of cyberbullying regards to employees. Negative online posts about coworkers are considered to be cyberbullying (Lachman, 2013). Employees must be aware of what they are posting about others, even in their personal lives,

SOCIAL MEDIA because they can come back and be seen as cyberbullying against a coworker. Clearly,

cyberbullying is a major issue that is emerging with the popularity of social media and must be responded to appropriately and preventatively. Both the issues of privacy and cyberbullying are extremely present at universities across the nation. Our society and culture has moved towards the social networking trend and now we are left to try and manage these issues as they come. Almost all of the examples that I have provided do not have very simple, black and white answers. Instead, we are left with many different ethical dilemmas. These are not easy decisions to make in regards to this topic. As a student affairs professional that is entering the work force as social media is reaching its highest heights, I am going to need to be able to function within the confines of social networking. A recent article stated that universities should be creating established standards that refer to technology and social media (Tim & Duven, 2008). By creating policies and standards for the use of these mediums, students and employees will have a much better understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Additionally, having clearly defined rules and regulations provides much more structure and guidance for student affairs professionals who are tasked with supervising these students. Clearly, social media is a major craze that is sweeping our generation. Students are spending more and more time online and social networks are playing larger roles in who the students identify as. Privacy within social media for students and employees is very questionable and is ever changing. Cyberbullying is becoming more prominent as people are using social networks as a way to hide behind their computers. These are presenting student affairs professionals with serious ethical dilemmas that can be handled much better if the university outlines their policies on such topics. Moving forward, universities, as well as student affairs

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professionals need to embrace social media, but must also outline the guidelines for use very clearly. Social media is a special thing that spreads communication like never before. If universities can utilize these networks successfully, their reach will be like nothing that has been seen before.

SOCIAL MEDIA References:

Dlma, B. (2009). Psychological needs as a predictor of cyber bullying: A preliminary report on college students. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 9(3), 1307-1325.

Lachman, V. D. (2013). Social media: Managing the ethical issues. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(5), 326-329.

Myers, J. (2013). Social media: Emerging issues [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learn.uvm.edu/wordpress_3_4b/wp-content/uploads/Vermont2013-SocialMedia_Notes.pdf

Ritger, C. (2013, February 18). For students, social media means more than following friends. USA Today College. Retrieved from http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/ccp/for-students-social-mediameans-more-than-following-friends.

Timm, D., Duven. C. Privacy for social networking sites. New Directions for Student Services 124.1 (2008): 89-102. Print.

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