I often find myself amazed at how careless the common person has become over the last two decades. Speaking on behalf of a younger member of the Millennial generation, i can remember using VHS tapes, Walkman players, and the oh-so lovely Dial-Up internet connection. Accessing the internet on a cell phone for anything more than a ringtone was unthinkable. Fast forward a few years to 1997, when AOL instant messenger (American Online) and SixDegrees.com were founded. Both websites let users chat among each other, creating friend lists and user profiles. In 2002, the first social networking website surfaced: Friendster.
Throughout grade school, bullying was started and finished on the playground. In middle school, rumors would spread the halls about how Sarah was no longer on Jake's top 8 friends on Myspace...which meant he had obviously broken up with her. Facebook had evolved in high school, where relationships were determined by whether or not a couple were FBO (Facebook Official). In 16 years, the world evolved from calling the internet a hype to astronauts Tweeting live from the International Space Station.
16 years ago, companies hired employees based on interviews and applicant's resumes. In 2013, companies are viewing potential employee's Facebook and Twitter accounts, Instagram pictures and even a simple Google search of their name. I am amazed by the content some people post online. There is a term in the tattoo industry known as the job-stopper, which is a tattoo that is visible from the wrist to the finger tips and from the neck up. Although tattoo enthusiasts love tattoos, most think ahead in their future and think about placement before they get inky. As a internet user, we must also define a job-stopper. Let me expose a few examples i often see from high school classmates:
Cussing - i'm the shit, bitch. What would grandma say about that mouth? Stay classy.
Underage drinking - a beer a day keeps the doctor away. Although i wish this were true, it's illegal. Tasty or not, keep it offline until you're legal.
Drugs - tokin' up tonight. Unless you live in Colorado or Oregon, you probably shouldn't tell everyone this.
Traveling - headed to Chicago! Leave your doors unlocked, why don't you. Turn off the geo-tag feature on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter while you're at it. A simple click tells me where you're at.
Porn - i'd hit that. Did you really just share that picture of a naked women? Keep your hormones offline.
Education - thank god for that Accounting cheat sheet. Millennial's and Generation Z are not the only users of the internet. You better hope your professor doesn't see that.
Need a more tangible example? Google the 22 year old Michigan women who dressed up as a Boston Marathon bombing victim for Halloween and posted a picture on her Instagram account. Within a few hours, she was fired from her job and had received hundreds of death threats to not only herself, but also to her parents. Aside from this being morally inappropriate, the bottom line is that this didn't belong on the internet.
We need to determine what constitutes a job-stopper in the internet world. What is acceptable and what is inappropriate? Could any repercussions result from what we post? We have evolved to a world where the internet is the first thing we check when we wake up and is the last think we check before bed. A world where we are more honest with a search engine then we are with our spouse or family. A world where movies, board games, books and photos are accessible at our fingertips. Employers are looking, parents are monitoring, professors are judging, and significant others are stalking. Think twice before you post.
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