Social Media Destroys Teen and Adult Futures

Social Media like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are the norm for teenage generations.  However, many are finding that their online activities have cost them a future.

We have polled 10 IL colleges to find out if they view social media prior to acceptance of applications.  8 of the 10 IL colleges we spoke to, both private and public, Google college applicant names before offering admittance.

One counselor stated, "You can tell a great deal about an applicant's maturity level based on their social networking pages and their cell phone answering service."  When we asked about the cell, this counselor stated they call with an unknown number so that they can see what the messages are, see how likely they will get a return call, and how long that takes.  It makes the difference between offering a place in the school or offering that place to someone else.

Even private colleges do not take all candidates, with requirements getting more tough each year.  ACT/SAT scores are evaluated as a criteria as well and for Master's work, other state test scores are relevant. 

However, employers are using the same type of discrimination when hiring.  Visiting the person's Linked In account can show if the resume was crafted specifically for their job offered, and if so, how many lies were told on the paper they received compared to your online image.  Maturity and personal information is gleaned off of popular sites like Google and Facebook as well. 

Although they cannot ask (HR law) for your age, if you have young kids, are married, or disability, visiting a social media site is LEGAL.  Making a decision based off of what they view is LEGAL. 

This is a lesson that all parents should teach children before they allow them to join social media networks.

One more problem with social media is that high schoolers all over Bolingbrook are listing their name, school attending, and picture, making them the target of sexual offenders, kidnappers, and others.  It is common for a registered sex offender to state that they found some girl or boy online, knew where to find them in person, knew what they looked like, knew if they had a lot of friends or were lonely, and what the kid was into like cheer leading, football, etc.  Once that knowledge was gained, they were able to coerce the victims into their car easier or find time that person was alone. 

So start by asking your middle schooler if they have these accounts and monitor them or remove them.  Take a look at your own accounts.  Remember what you put online will be there for anyone to access.