Fired from facebook

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg once said the world has changed, that it has became more public and less private, with the immense rise of social network sites this statement isn't far from the truth. Are facebook users becoming more blase with the sharing of personal information?

Privacy is a real concern with the amount of personal information we share on facebook and other SNS especially when it has to do with jobs. Employers are commonly using facebook as a way to judge potential employees or to monitor them.

Facebook is used to interact with friends, share what is on your mind and to express yourself...just make sure you don't say anything that can get you fired. It is not entirely that uncommon to hear of employees being dismissed for saying how they feel about their job, a 16 year old girl was fired for apparently saying that her job was "boring" on facebook: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1155971/Teenage-office-worker-sacked-moaning-Facebook-totally-boring-job.html. In the casual setting of facebook it should be okay to post something as generic about how someone feels about their work without fear of losing their job. It is most of the time just a way of making conversation online and to gain empathy from friends. It isn't just words which can have negative impacts but photos as well. We can control what we share on our profiles, but we cannot control what our friends put on their pages such as photos which can be unflattering or embarassing and taken out of context.

I don't agree with employers judging someone by their profile as it can be inaccurate portrayals of someone as internet does allow room for playing with our identities, it also doesn't reveal the whole person, there is time for play and work. On the other hand they are representing a company, franchise, business etc. But afterall if the facebook profile is set to public there is nothing stopping the employers of having every right to view it. Privacy settings over facebook in this instance is very important. And if you want to feel free to vent don't add your boss.