On average, 96 percent of high school and college students use the social media website Facebook.com, according to a 2010 study released by the University of New Hampshire.
A study conducted at the University of Maryland this spring set out to discover how students tailor their Facebook profiles to what they believe employers will find acceptable.
The results of the study show a relatively mild student attitude towards censoring Facebooks.
The results also indicate that females are more likely to censor their Facebook than males, and that the sexes view different content as inappropriate.
Survey questions college students on Facebook censorship habits
The study was conducted by University of Maryland Journalism students Ethan Rothstein and Christine Jubert. Data was gathered from a 17-question survey that was distributed by the authors on Facebook and Twitter.
Since the survey was posted on the personal Facebook and Twitter pages of University of Maryland students, the results may not reflect the view of students at other schools or in other areas.
The sample size used in the survey was relatively small.
The respondents were required to be enrolled in a higher education program, and have a personal Facebook page. There were 40 recorded responses.
As upcoming graduates themselves, the researchers were interested to see what precautions, if any, that college students were taking to keep their Facebook pages appropriate enough for a potential employer to view.
Students not overly concerned with “inappropriate content”
The study’s results reveal that many students take a relatively lax approach to guarding their personal Facebook content from potential employers.
Of those surveyed, 90 percent had been warned sometime during their college career that employers may use Facebook to screen potential employees, yet 73 percent actually took steps to censor their pages.
When asked how they would react if a friend posted content on their Facebook that they had deemed inappropriate, only 15 percent of those surveyed said that they would react “very negatively”. The majority of respondents, 60 percent, said they would have little to no reaction.
Only three percent of students surveyed answered that they were “very worried” that a potential employer would access their private Facebook information.
Content considered most inappropriate: photos of active drug/alcohol use
When asked what content the students themselves deemed inappropriate for Facebook, the highest number of students (85 percent) deemed “photos of [them]self actively partaking in alcohol or drug consumption” and “statuses or wall posts including drugs/alcohol/sexual content” equally inappropriate.
When the question was changed to ask students what they thought employers would deem inappropriate, “Photos of [them]self actively partaking in alcohol or drug consumption” got the vote of 98 percent of those surveyed, and “statuses or wall posts including drugs/alcohol/sexual content” got the vote of 95 percent of those surveyed.
Five percent of those surveyed thought that nothing on Facebook, including party photos and photos of public displays of affection, would be considered inappropriate by employers.
Findings differ according to gender: females more likely to censor
According to the study, 73 percent of students censor their Facebook pages, and females were 14.6 percent more likely to censor their pages than males.
Only 16.6 percent of males thought photos containing public displays of affection were inappropriate compared to 43.7 of females.
On the other hand, 18.7 percent of females surveyed thought party photos were inappropriate, compared to 25 percent of males.
When respondents were asked if they would hesitate to hire themselves based on their own Facebook content if they were an employer, 15 percent responded yes. Based on their Facebook content, 18.7 percent of females would hesitate to hire themselves, compared to 12.5 percent of males.
Not now, I’ll censor it tomorrow…
Nearly half of students surveyed had no plans to censor their Facebooks more completely in the future. Since 77 percent of students surveyed thought photos from a party were appropriate content, this attitude could leave quite a few party pictures floating on the web.
Why don’t some students screen their Facebook? Twenty percent cite the fact that they don’t engage in any inappropriate behavior that would need screening. Eight percent believe their desired field isn’t the type that would have employers screen their Facebook pages. Another 8 percent simply don’t care. Lastly, 5 percent want their Facebooks to display who they “really are”.
Fifteen percent of those surveyed plan on censoring their Facebook pages after they’ve graduated from college, and 35 percent plan to censor once they begin applying for jobs.
Real life: what should be censored?
In an article titled “Digital Footprints of a College Graduate”, Michael Stanfield suggests that graduates remove incriminating pictures, videos, and unfavorable comments posted on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and other social networks.
“A search beginning with Google and ending with Facebook from a prospective employer could mean the difference between a callback and rejection, or even getting that first interview,” says Stanfield.
As Facebook grows, so will the issue of personal privacy
Facebook’s popularity continues to grow, and its U.S. user base grew from 42 million to 103 million in 2009, according to Facebook’s Social Ad System. That’s a 144.9 percent growth rate.
In addition, the 35+ demographic now represents more than 30 percent of the entire user base. With more and more people including administrators and bosses using Facebook, the question of when and to what extent college students will censor their Facebooks will only grow in importance.
No comments:
Post a Comment