Many people today are mixing their personal and professional
networks on their social networking sites. Before anyone does this they should
take a look at what it really means and what can happen if you do mix the two.
A study was conducted by three professors at UPenn’s Wharton
School and the University of Rouen in France to look at the issue. The study
showed that while the networks can be very useful, they also have their
downfalls, especially when mixing personal and professional. Today, social
networking is the most popular that it has ever been. Since it is so popular,
many people are interacting more with co-workers, and supervisors. While this can
increase the communication level between the employees it also can have its
disadvantages. It can cause a “collision of worlds”, which can create ill
effects by disclosing information that is not suitable for co-workers to see on
your social networking sites. A point to remember that once it is on the Internet,
it is there forever!
Social networking sites were created so that people could
communicate with others without having to have a face-to-face interaction. This
online communication can be a positive effect because the co-workers are
engaging in personal disclosure. The study looked at workplace reputation, and
competence and likeability. It stated that ones likeability could be boosted
with their non-professional interactions on their social networking sites. This
is because it shows that they are human.
People should find a way to balance both their personal and
professional life on their social networking sites. You don’t want to be
perceived as the co-worker that gives out too much information or the co-worker
that is to “uptight or cold”.
From this study that has been done, four really good points
were created on how to balance the two. These points are audience, content,
hybrid, and open. Audience thinks that one should keep their personal and
professional sites separate. Content wants employees to be able to have the mix
but have a filter on what is posted. Hybrid mixes audience and content points,
this point has users using the social media site while having the user watch
what they are saying. The last point is open, which is where people call it
like they see it without regarding who is listening or their opinions.
Everyone should figure out where they stand on the issue
before they decide to mix their personal and professional life on their social
networking sites.
"Everyone should figure out where they stand on the issue before they decide to mix their personal and professional life on their social networking sites."
ReplyDeleteI agree with that statement. I separate my business profile from my social one. That makes me apart of the "audience" point of view. It is becoming more popular for people to change their Facebook profile name to something other than their real one in order to hide it from potential employers. I think LinkedIn is a wonderful site for business professionals, but linking it to your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts are, in my opinion, not the best idea when applying for employment.
I agree with your statement to a certain extend. Particularly, I believe that everything depends on the type of social network we are making reference to. For instance, I consider that Facebook should be exclusively use to connect with family and friends and not coworkers, in few words, it’s better not to have any professional contacts on Facebook. In contrast, LinkedIn is a great platform to include coworkers, clients, and other professional contacts in order to build optimal working relationships where colleagues could be completely aware of one’s capacities and abilities. That’s why in order to keep a perfect balance; I consider that we need to keep our work social network separate from our social network.
ReplyDeleteI believe that social networking is a double bladed sword. The problem is most people don't know how to limit themselves and that is when it becomes a problem and interferes with other aspects of your physical life. I understand that social networking is a great way to stay in touch and keep up with the world, but it seems that most people can't control that urge to use it. It is at this point when it can even cause internet addiction which will also in turn can damage the relationship with your fellow employees and can endanger your future at your job. Not only will you be spend time on Facebook at work (which I don't believe any employer will feel that they should keep someone and pay them to do that), but you can also put other people who you work with in troubles path by posting non work friendly pictures of them with you. Do I believe that employers should have access to Facebook content? No, but I do think it should be necessary to keep a clean profile to uphold your own image as long as your employers.
ReplyDeleteI really think that personal and business life should be kept separate in the social networks. I've heard of a few cases where people are getting fired for either posting comments about their companies or upper management finding things on their employees profiles that they did not approved. I know the are certain laws that are being tried to be implied now for this kind of situations but it is still free access to the public to see everything you post either about your job or your personal life. I think people should really be aware or what they are posting online and to remember who has access to it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the two should be separate for the most part. I think there are ways of showing your fellow employees or employers that you aren't 'too stuffy' without them having access to photos of your weekend activities. I just think its safe to keep the two very separate and at the least be very mindful of what you post on social media (or what you have posted in the past).
ReplyDeleteI agree the 2 should be separate as well. You can't mix business with pleasure. I think having social sites is a great way to communicate with people that do not live close to you but you should be doing this on your own personal time and not while you are at work. I believe employers will start hold people accountable for doing this. As I have always said, "It can wait."
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the comments above me. I think that work and personal should be kept separate if at all possible. I have also seen some people bashing their companies or customers on social media sites. This is a terrible representation of the company, and I believe that some companies will 'crack down' and start holding employees accountable for these types of things. I know that I personally am drawn away from a company if I constantly see their own employees talking negatively about it or their fellow co-workers who are working there. People who post where they are employed on social media sites need to realize that they are, in a way, representing the company.
ReplyDeleteLindsay Laws
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ReplyDelete