Articles
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April 11, 2010
The Government, potential employers, lovers, friends and family are now using Facebook to learn all about you and your personal business. Facebook is NOT a smart place to make an ass out of yourself... (read why below)
1. The ladettes who glorify their shameful drunken antics on Facebook
Drunkenly dancing on tables or collapsing in the street used to be a source of acute embarrassment for young women the morning after the night before.
Today, they are more likely to boast about it - to the world, with pictures - on social networking sites.
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Bush drama: This girl has apparently lost something in this bush
Shameful: Another girl seems caught short
More than 150,000 girls have signed up to Facebook's online forum "30 Reasons Girls Should Call It A Night", where they openly discuss the various states of inebriation - and undress - they have found themselves in.
Among those included in nearly 5,000 images which have been posted on the website is young blonde Jennifer Rentfrow, who was caught kneeling over a toilet after a night out.
Other images show friends Claire Munday and Zoe Bates sleeping on a dancefloor, while Ashley Spellmeyer is shown sleeping in the bath.
Other young women can be seen being sick on themselves, falling into bushes, answering a call of nature in public or inadvertently exposing themselves.
The site is named after 30 tell-tale signs that it is time to go home.
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Slumber on the dance floor: Power naps are sometimes surprisingly necessary
Undignified exit: Straight from car to floor
These include having no idea where your friends are, slurring your words so badly no one can understand what you are saying, having make-up "smeared all over your face" and passing out.
A topic group on the website entitled "Funniest/Stupidest s*** you did while drunk" allows members to post details of their binge-drinking antics.
Katie O'Connor, from Manchester, wrote: "A few days ago on a birthday night out I was absolutely ratted - and upon entering an 80's club, offered to flash the DJ my left b*** if he'd play 'Never gonna give you up'."
Lindsay Gordon, a student at Canterbury Christ Church University, wrote: "Pole dancing on lamp posts is always a good laugh." A recent Government-commissioned study found one in five 15-year-olds now drinks the equivalent of almost a bottle of wine a week.
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Hitching a ride: Sometimes it's easier than taking the night bus - and you can still smoke in trolleys
Priorities: Fast asleep - but don't worry, her drink is still safe in her hand
Figures from the Office for National Statistics last month revealed twice as many young women are dying from alcohol abuse as 15 years ago.
An increasing number of young people are now being diagnosed with life-threatening conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver.
Experts fear the toll will continue to rise following Labour's introduction of round-the-clock drinking.
Alcohol Concern yesterday warned the Facebook site was "symptomatic of the culture of acceptability around drunkenness".
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Multi-tasker: They have always said women are better at doing multiple tasks than men
Crashed out: Complete collapse in the bathroom
Spokesman Frank Soodeen added: "There are the obvious mishaps young people get into but this doesn't act as a disincentive because it provides excellent material for anecdotes.
"People are perfectly happy to post these sorts of pictures because they recognise that alcohol-related embarrassment will actually improve their social standing."
2. Six career-killing Facebook mistakes millions of morons make
With more than 400 million active visitors, Facebook is arguably the most popular social networking site out there. And while the site is known for the casual social aspect, many users also use it as a professional networking tool. With that kind of reach, Facebook can be a valuable tool for connecting to former and current colleagues, clients and potential employers. In fact, surveys suggest that approximately 30% of employers are using Facebook to screen potential employees — even more than those who check LinkedIn, a strictly professional social networking site. Don't make these Facebook faux-pas — they might cost you a great opportunity.
1. Inappropriate Pictures
It may go without saying, but prospective employers or clients don't want to see pictures of you chugging a bottle of wine or dressed up for a night at the bar. Beyond the pictures you wouldn't want your grandparents to see, seemingly innocent pictures of your personal life will likely not help to support the persona you want to present in your professional life.
2. Complaining About Your Current Job
You've no doubt done this at least once. It could be a full note about how much you hate your office, or how incompetent your boss is, or it could be as innocent as a status update about how your coworker always shows up late. While everyone complains about work sometimes, doing so in a public forum where it can be found by others is not the best career move. Though it may seem innocent, it's not the kind of impression that sits well with a potential boss.
3. Posting Conflicting Information to Your Resume
If you say on your resume that your degree is from Harvard, but your Facebook profile says you went to UCLA, you're likely to be immediately cut from the interview list. Even if the conflict doesn't leave you looking better on your resume, disparities will make you look at worst like a liar, and at best careless.
4. Statuses You Wouldn't Want Your Boss to See
Everyone should know to avoid statuses like "Tom plans to call in sick tomorrow so he can get drunk on a Wednesday. Who cares that my big work project isn't done?" But you should also be aware of less flamboyant statuses like "Sarah is watching the gold medal hockey game online at her desk". Statuses that imply you are unreliable, deceitful, and basically anything that doesn't make you look as professional as you'd like, can seriously undermine your chances at landing that new job.
5. Not Understanding Your Security Settings
The security settings on Facebook have come a long way since the site started. It is now possible to customize lists of friends and decide what each list can and cannot see. However, many people do not fully understand these settings, or don't bother to check who has access to what. If you are going to use Facebook professionally, and even if you aren't, make sure you take the time to go through your privacy options. At the very least, your profile should be set so that people who are not your friend cannot see any of your pictures or information.
6. Losing by Association
You can't control what your friends post to your profile (although you can remove it once you see it), nor what they post to their own profiles or to those of mutual friends. If a potential client or employer sees those Friday night pictures your friend has tagged you in where he is falling down drunk, it reflects poorly on you, even if the picture of you is completely innocent. It's unfortunate, but we do judge others by the company they keep, at least to some extent. Take a look at everything connected to your profile, and keep an eye out for anything you wouldn't want to show your mother.
Facebook Can Help You Get Hired … or Fired
The best advice is to lock down your personal profile so that only friends you approve can see anything on that profile. Then, create a second, public profile on Facebook purely for professional use. This profile functions like an online resume, and should only contain information you'd be comfortable telling your potential employer face to face. Having a social networking profile is a good thing — it presents you as technologically and professionally savvy. Just make sure your profile is helping to present your best side — not the side that got drunk at your buddy's New Year's party.
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