Is a social media a judge of character?
"Hide your pics, hide your posts, cuz they screening everyone up in here"
Is the content that people post on a blog, Facebook account, Twitter, Youtube or any other social media, an indication of their character? If so, a lot of us are in trouble, at least if we were in British Columbia looking to work for the NDP political party.
The B.C. NDP has made it clear that any leadership hopefuls must hand over the passwords and usernames to their social media accounts as part of a screening process to avoid any embarassments for future party members.
There are times when social media can stop you from getting some, now it can stop you from getting certain types of jobs.
Intrusive? I think so. Don’t get me wrong, if someone has videos of them marching in a Nazi parade they’re probably not the best political candidate. However, is a Facebook picture of someone in their early twenties smoking a joint or making out with multiple girls at once; mean they are of poor character? How about a Youtube video of a 4.0 dean’s list student in college doing a keg stand for thirty seconds, is that person unbecoming? Where is the line drawn when you start prying into people’s private lives?
Everyone has secrets and most people have wild moments in their lives where they just throw caution to the wind. It seems as far as the NDP is concerned, those moments are now up to scrutiny by others who have done a better job of hiding who they really are.
All I’m saying is that it’s a slippery slope. What if more and more employers started including social media as part of an applicant’s resume? At that point people would have to make a choice to either live like a robot or never ever document some of the more memorable moments in their short lives.
On the other hand, if you strain hard enough, one can understand where the NDP is coming from. The way the entire lives of public figures has become fodder for the internet should cause concern for high profile employers and political parties. The last thing a political party needs during election time is a leak of one their party members or electorial candidates smoking a fatty. Outside of California that is.
And so now we’ve entered an era that I had hoped would never come. It’s an era where, depending on your occupation, you could be judged for the recklessness of your youth posted on social media. It’s an era where you might have to ask friends not to take pictures of you while you’re getting loose. Remember that sex tape you made with that Scandinavian beauty? The one who helped you set up the tri-pod? Better find that thing and burn it! What a shame.
It’s an era where certain people will have to think twice before posting and commenting candidly in social media. In a sense, it’s a form of censorship.
I guess it’s time for certain individuals to start leaning on that delete button. It’s times like this where it feels really good to be a gaming industry professional, where you’re judged on the quality of your performance on the job and your personal relations among your work peers and not on the gambling, drinking and carrying on you did last weekend.
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