Watch out!

The previous posts discussed the possibilities of harmful effects that can occur as a result of social media usage.  These effects are certainly not experienced by everyone, but it is still important to be aware of them so that teenagers do not abuse these sites and experience these negative effects themselves. This post, however will discuss something that effects everyone who has a profile on any form of social media, and will give tips on how to avoid getting yourself trapped in this dark hole.  

Thirteen is a very big age for most kids.  They finally enter the beginning of their teenage years, feel like they are growing up....

And are able to sign up for Facebook!

Facebook requires a minimum age of thirteen for users.  If kids do happen to sign up at this young of an age, think about how many pictures and postings they acquire throughout their teenage lives.  By the time they are 18 years old, and applying to colleges, they have accumulated five years of information documenting their lives all within one page.

In a survey of admissions officers from top colleges, it was found that about 26% of universities visit social networking sites to learn more about the applicants.  These sites include google, Facebook, twitter, and so on.

Would you want your top college looking through your Facebook page or twitter feed? One bad picture or tweet that may mean nothing to you could affect your chances of getting into a school.  It is strongly suggested that teenagers clean up their profiles to make them more professional and avoid any misbehavior that could be taken the wrong way such as alcohol use, and other inappropriate behaviors.

Even though privacy settings are an option, it is still important to make sure that there is nothing on your social media pages that can come off the wrong way.  Many different situations can occur that applicants are completely unaware of.  Since many teens are friends with thousands of people that they may not even know, it is possible for anyone to get access to private profiles.

This year at Choate, a jealous friend sent a facebook link to the admissions office in attempt to sabotage an application.  There is no guarantee that this type of situation will not happen, so it is important for teenagers to make sure that their profiles portray them in a professional way that will help them rather than hurt them.

ABC News suggests 7 easy steps to help teens clean up their profiles:

1. Keep a clean account free of inappropriate postings and pictures from the minute you set up your account.
2. Know what your friends are posting, as well, and make sure they aren't posting inappropriate pictures or videos of you.
3. Tighten privacy settings so that only your friends can see posts.    
4. Google yourself so you know what is out there. Even though you set your privacy settings on social media, search engines can work around those filters.     
5. Remember to go through old postings, too. College admissions people often look all the way back to when you first joined social media.      
6. Check your social media pages about once a week.     
7. Rule of thumb: If you don't want your parents to see it, take it off.

After working so hard throughout high school, it is a shame for a picture or a tweet to be a deciding factor of whether or not kids get in to the college that they want, so it is extremely important to spread awareness, and filter through your profiles.  Social media sites are clearly a major part of almost every teenagers life, so it is essential that they are used in the right ways. 

Just remember that whatever you post or your friends post is open to the world, so make sure to use caution, and be proud of what is displayed under your name.