Laurisa Titterud

Professor Carter
English 371
April 28, 2015
Facebook, Ethos and Professional Identity
The construction of identity has undergone amazing changes
throughout the decades. For older generations face-to-face and
personal interactions were used to construct identity. Now, with the
expansion of technology, more commonly social media is used to
express and create identity. With the invention and common practice of
students using Facebook, employers are using this platform to identify
the ethos of potential employees. Ethos represents the credibility and
character of an individual. With out having the personal connection
that is achieved through face-to-face communication, perceptions of
ones ethos can be skewed when connecting through social media.
There is plenty of scholarship on Facebook and identity, but there
is little scholarship that examines Facebook, ethos and the effect that it
has on ones professional identity. In the scholarship focused on
identity, authors fail to tell us why or how certain posts can impact our
ethos. In the article Examining Students Intended Image on
Facebook: What Were They Thinking?!, Joy Peluchette and Katherine
Karl write about how identities are in a way falsified to their audience
because the users are trying to fit in with certain groups or at least

wanting the viewers to perceive them as something they really are not.
Using Facebook to glorify or personify ultra-egos can be extremely
detrimental to ones self-image and ultimately creating personality
issues and identity crisis.
In scholarship that focuses on Facebook and professionalism the
author illuminates why employers are looking to Facebook to assess
grounds of employment. In the article by Beth Lory titled, Using
Facebook to Assess Candidates During the Recruiting Process: Ethical
Implications, she brings to light that, when an employer uses
Facebook as means for employment screening, they are practicing the
utilitarian approach of ethics, (1). This essentially means that
employers want an employee who will be the greatest option for the
company and will do little harm to the company, customers, and
community. My article closes this gap by demonstrating the importance
of establishing an online ethos through Facebook so that when
employers screen this social platform the content shows
professionalism. This is essential for college students particularly
because at this stage in life they are exposed to many opportunities to
diminish their online ethos, which will severely affect them when it
comes time to find a job in the professional workplace. I also open the
argument that social media, if used inappropriately is harmful to all
users, regardless of their age.

Social media is rapidly growing and it allows users create profiles

and post information about themselves. The greater issue at hand is
what these profiles and posts are saying about individuals identities.
Facebook is the leading site for college student, with 7.5 million
accounts and over 2,000 U.S. colleges alone. Students are allowed to
post any information they so choose to create their online identity.
Facebook makes it easy for students to portray themselves in certain
ways in order to fit in with and be accepted by certain groups.
However, is being accepted by certain groups worth risking your
professional identity?
Aristotle refers to ethos as having good character and credibility,
(Smith). Having an online ethos is important because employers are
now using Facebook as a means of screening their potential
employees. Social media needs to be used to exemplify good character
and show they will make a trustworthy employee. However, not all
profiles show these characteristics. Lory found that when employers
use Facebook as an approach to screening potential employees they
claim to be practicing a utilitarian approach of ethics. This states, the
ethical corporate action is the one that produces the greatest good and
does the least harm for all are affected, (Lory). Employers want to hire
someone that will benefit the greater good of the company and the
community. When employers see inappropriate posts of their potential
employees they will speculate the character of this individual. This

speculative observation will hinder all future career opportunities for

the candidate.
Peluchette and Karl found that, alcohol and risky sexual
behavior tend to be a big part of college life and are even considered
as rite of passage for some incoming freshmen, (Peluchette). Students
giving into social pressures and the need to fit in and be considered
cool means that they almost lose a part of themselves along the way.
By posting these kinds of pictures and statuses students are
diminishing their ethos. Employers will perceive these people as
unprofessional, they will assume that because their profile is
inappropriate or racy this type of behavior will follow them into the
workplace. Employers do not want to see these types of posts on their
employees Facebook profiles. These types of activities typically do not
represent a companys values and they are therefore frowned upon.
Taking a further look into an example, the profile of Jane Doe
exemplifies an example of poor Facebook ethos. With pictures
consisting mostly at the bar taking shots and partying, and posts using
profanities, the image she has established is extremely negative,
unprofessional and that of a person who lacks discipline and selfconfidence. This is an immediate red flag not only to a future employer
but also to anyone viewing Jane Does profile. Employers view this as
someone with extremely poor judgment, which will limit and hinder
viable career options for her in the future. Unfortunately, this can

follow someone for years down the road and be a huge career
determent regardless of intelligence or grade point average. Character
is a very important aspect of ethos because it shows what kinds of
moral qualities consist within a person. Most importantly, it is those
qualities that ultimately reflect ones reputation. True character also
shows how individuals will respond and react when put in certain
situations. Employers are looking for people who can represent their
corporation with good character. Character represents how trustworthy
ones actions and morals are. Lory states, employers may want to
consider any impact on their public relations image by using Facebook
to assess candidates, (Lory). She is warning that corporations who
have employee with inappropriate or racy content put their company
image and ethos at risk because clients can see these Facebook
profiles.
Not only does ethos of social media pertain to students, college
graduates and young adults but to all generation regardless of age.
Inappropriate Facebook posts or any other types of social media posts
pertaining to discrimination on color, race, sexual orientation, religion,
or nationality will hinder current employment positions from advancing
and even possibly termination. There are countless examples of
individuals being fired for posting certain content onto their Facebook
page. A prime example of this is the Chick-Fil-A incident. A very
successful, middle-aged CFO took a video of himself at a Chick-Fil-A

badgering an employee, later he posted this video on YouTube and

Facebook. Shortly thereafter this man was fired from his CFO position
and struggled to find work. No one would hire him because of this
video, companies do not want to be held responsible for undesired
actions by their employees, especially if they do not properly reflect
the companys image. He completely tarnished his ethos with this one
video, but that was all it took. This illuminates how important our
profiles are and what we post reflects good character and credibility.
We dont need to be young or a student to diminish our ethos, we can
be of any age or job position.
In conclusion, social media, Facebook specifically, can negatively
affect students online ethos. It can be difficult for students to find a
way to fit in and try to be accepted by their peers. However, posting
inappropriate content on their profile will only diminish their
professionalism and ethos. Without having a personal connection with
someone it can be difficult to accurately perceive ones ethos. This is
why is it essential to strongly promote good character and credibility
throughout our social media profiles. Social media should be used to
install in the viewers mind that unequivocally there is no doubt that
the profile they are viewing is reliable and trustworthy.
Bibliography
Lory, Beth. Using Facebook to Asses Candidates During the Recruiting
Process: Ethical Implications. National Association of Colleges and
Employers (2010). Web. 11 May 2015. <

https://www.class.umn.edu/crimson/dependancies/multimedia/Faceboo
k_in_Hiring_Ethical_Implications.pdf>
Peluchette, Joy, and Katherine Karl. Examining Students Intended
Image on Facebook: What Were They Thinking?! Journal of Education
for Business (2009): 30-37. Print.
Smith, Craig R. The development of Rhetorical Theory in Greece.
Rhetoric & Human Consciousness: A History. 4thed. Long Grove:
Waveland, 2003. 49. Print.