The Dark Side of Social Networking

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube … the list goes on as the social media plane expands. Social media isn’t a fad -- it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. Think about it: Who doesn’t know someone who’s found a roommate by using Facebook, gotten a job or internship by networking on LinkedIn or been asked to upload an assignment to a class blog for peer feedback?

So I ask … if a modern-day college student weren’t socially connected on the Internet, would he or she be able to get by? Plain and simple, the answer is a whopping no! Face the facts:

• Ninety-six percent of Generation Y belongs to a social network of some sort.

• Eighty percent of companies use social media to recruit for new jobs.

• Select universities like Boston College have stopped distributing .edu email accounts to its new students, having determined that students already have established online identities.

• The National Association for College Admission Counseling found that 88 percent of admission offices considered students’ social media use to be either “somewhat” or “very” important in the recruitment process.

Clearly, we are witnessing a social revolution. Our generation isn’t just into social media: We’re forced into it. We depend on it. Uh, has it gone too far?

Comment below. But beware: By now, we’ve all heard about potential employers, college admission offices and even teachers going on Facebook and MySpace to check out how students are spending their extracurricular time. Nothing is private; nothing is sacred. Your life is my life and vice versa. In other words, every post, comment or shout-out is a potential future liability. Just sayin’!

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/chrisgramly