Morgan McGrath
ENG 400
Professor Green
December 2017
Online Identity Reflection
Social Media has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. It can be a pathway for connecting with old friends, new friends, business partners, past employers, future employers, and other organizations. There are also many risks associated with having a vivid life on social media. Most of all, in today’s world, what you portray on social media can affect you tremendously. While exploring through my social media accounts with an outsider’s perspective, I found that my social media accounts portray me in an accurate and appropriate way.
I am an active user of social media. I mainly like to keep up with my friends and share important events in my life to those who are important to me. I have Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram accounts. I am cautious about what I post on my accounts mainly because of my audience. My parents, family, employers, other adults, and coaches are my friends/followers. Social media accounts represent individuals to others through the internet, and allow for exploration into someone’s life based on their social media profile. I am not only a representative of myself, but I am also a representative of Longwood University as a student-athlete. What I post on my social media account is important for these reasons. I were to post a picture of myself at a bar drinking wearing a Longwood Cheer T-Shirt, I am representing my school this way, which could potentially cause negative attention depending on who sees it. I do not want to give a negative representation of my school, my team, or Longwood Athletics.
I believe that my social media profiles are a good representation professionally as well. I am mindful of the content and language used in my posts and interactions online. I hope to have a career in healthcare one day, and employers will not take me seriously if I act inappropriately online, as I will be caring for people’s health and possibly have someone’s life in my hands. I will continue to monitor what I post to maintain a professional profile as I am leaving college and entering the workforce, and continue these habits once I have obtained a job as well.
If you scroll through my Facebook page, you will find updates about my college life, pictures from cheerleading at Longwood, pictures of my family, friends, and my boyfriend. I also post promotional statuses for the restaurant I work at, and for cheerleading, but that is about it. My Instagram is filled with pretty much the same things, but just pictures. My Instagram does not show any pictures of me engaging in any illegal activity, activities involving/showing alcohol/other drugs, or inappropriate exposing photos. My Twitter account is a bit more laid back, as I post about random thoughts or funny things that happen in my life, and conversate with friends about relatable experiences. Snapchat is an interesting social media account, this app allows people to post pictures and set a time limit on how long someone can view them, then they are “gone”. You can send individual “snaps” or send them to your story for all your followers to see. Most people truly believe that snaps are “gone” after the time runs out. I do not believe this, I believe once anything is sent over social media, it cannot be taken back. I do not post anything or send anything to anyone that I would not post on my other social media accounts. Anyone can take a screenshot of your picture and send it out. My social media accounts today are a good representation of who I am as a person academically and personally. I believe that my attention to the details of my posts and interactions online show on my social media profiles. It is important that my social media accounts are an accurate and positive representation of me.
Eight years ago, I created a Facebook profile, at the age of thirteen! I am a very different person now. I have found my very first posts on Facebook, and I used incorrect grammar and talked about pointless things. I talked about everything I did that day, or how my softball practice was, etc. I also put “text me” at the end of every status. I know if I were to do this now, people would not take me seriously. I have not found any profanity in any of my posts on Facebook, which is a high note, especially having made my Facebook at such a young age. I have always been cautious about my posts, which will benefit me in the future.
My social media accounts represent me and my daily living. I mainly use them to check up on what my friends and family are doing. Academically, I am a conscientious student and I have huge aspirations to be successful and help others in my future. It is important that my social media portrays this of me. As I have grown older, I have become more mindful of what I post on social media, my privacy settings, and who I associate with on social media. Since social media has become so popular today, it is now a popular tool for employers to explore their job candidates and current employees. I believe that first impressions are everything, and as I am going to have a future job in healthcare, it is important to maintain a professional profile. I do not want to ever post anything on social media that would be a red flag to an employer and possibly keep me from achieving my goals and dreams. My attention to what I post online will benefit me in the future. I have made sure to keep my social media accounts true to myself and my personality, but also representative of my academic life and goals.