A Facebook picture is worth few words
Adam Roberts
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Opinion
My brother Andrew and his girlfriend, Elizabeth, met on Facebook. Andrew's profile made a strong impression - everything from the FDR quote under his photo to his countless "Support ______ for Office" groups made it clear that he is obsessed with politics. This, along with his dashing photo, got her interested pretty quickly.
Elizabeth's profile, however, gave Andrew a misleading impression. Her political views were set as "conservative." He assumed the worst.
Andrew tried to use their new Facebook friendship to start some debates, but he found out that she's actually a moderate Democrat and, as she tells it, "much smarter than he is."
A lot of students worry about being stereotyped politically. The basic information box caused a lot of concern for Tina Korbe when she first created her profile as a senior in high school. At first, she left the political views section blank. She worried that being pegged as "conservative" would make it more difficult to find dates and, because she works in a profession that strives for objectivity, a job.
But she eventually decided to come out in the open. "If someone doesn't like me just because I'm conservative, then that's not someone I really want to like me in the first place," she said.
How much does a one-word summary of someone's political leanings tell you, anyway? Tina is a smart, hilarious, engaging person. She's not a bigot and she's not close-minded. My brother's a solid Democrat who goes to church every week and would never support a "War on Christmas." If you write them off just because of what Facebook says their political views are, you're missing out.
Employers' use of Facebook is old news, but so far all the advice has focused on telling job applicants how to manage their profiles. You already know to change your settings to provide the highest possible privacy - and not to list "embezzling money" as one of your interests.
So I have some counsel for the people on the other side of the desk: if you refuse to hire someone based on the picture on their Facebook profile, you're a moron.
Facebook was designed for college students to keep in touch with each other. If you want to learn how a job applicant will conduct his or herself in the professional world, visit LinkedIn. Whether someone snapped a picture of Joe Bob Jones doing a keg stand at a party when he was 19 years old has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on his ability to perform whatever job you're hiring for.
Everyone shows poor judgment in college. Our last three presidents used illegal drugs. So did the greatest Olympian of all time. Lord Byron and St. Augustine were famous for their youthful indiscretions.
Intelligent employers will take a Facebook photo or wall post for what it is - an out-of-context snapshot of one very particular moment in time. A picture of a guy holding a red plastic cup doesn't mean he's an alcoholic and a picture of a girl wearing a low-cut shirt doesn't mean she's a slut.
Superficial judgments will hurt a company in ways beyond just filtering out some of the most qualified applicants. Kellogg used to have a top 10 reputation among consumers. When it canceled Michael Phelps' endorsement contract because of a photo showing him with a bong, it dropped to No. 83.
The Internet, the development of social tagging and the affordability of consumer camcorders ensure that when today's kids sow their wild oats, everyone knows about it. If the only people allowed to get jobs in the future are those who never screwed up, it's going to be a very boring world. It's absurd that brilliant college graduates could be flipping burgers because someone tagged them in a freak-dancing photo three years ago.
I'm not going to pretend that I've never been guilty of Facebook judging. I don't date girls who haven't favorited any movies older than they are, and I usually assume that those who list themselves as "single" instead of just leaving the spot blank are desperate.
These are pretty some bad rules. They're based on generalization and stereotyping, and I'm getting rid of them. After all, some of the most interesting people I've ever met have Twilight bumper stickers littering their boxes page.
To be clear, I'm not saying that college students should go out and party every night or shouldn't use common sense when posting photos or notes. (And please, no more whiny break-up "poetry.") Right and wrong exists, and there are consequences for actions. Most employers don't read the Traveler and probably wouldn't take my advice, anyway.
What I am saying is that we all need to take what we see on Facebook with a grain of salt. A profile can help you get to know someone, but it can never give you the whole picture.
Adam Roberts is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. This is his final column.
Elizabeth's profile, however, gave Andrew a misleading impression. Her political views were set as "conservative." He assumed the worst.
Andrew tried to use their new Facebook friendship to start some debates, but he found out that she's actually a moderate Democrat and, as she tells it, "much smarter than he is."
A lot of students worry about being stereotyped politically. The basic information box caused a lot of concern for Tina Korbe when she first created her profile as a senior in high school. At first, she left the political views section blank. She worried that being pegged as "conservative" would make it more difficult to find dates and, because she works in a profession that strives for objectivity, a job.
But she eventually decided to come out in the open. "If someone doesn't like me just because I'm conservative, then that's not someone I really want to like me in the first place," she said.
How much does a one-word summary of someone's political leanings tell you, anyway? Tina is a smart, hilarious, engaging person. She's not a bigot and she's not close-minded. My brother's a solid Democrat who goes to church every week and would never support a "War on Christmas." If you write them off just because of what Facebook says their political views are, you're missing out.
Employers' use of Facebook is old news, but so far all the advice has focused on telling job applicants how to manage their profiles. You already know to change your settings to provide the highest possible privacy - and not to list "embezzling money" as one of your interests.
So I have some counsel for the people on the other side of the desk: if you refuse to hire someone based on the picture on their Facebook profile, you're a moron.
Facebook was designed for college students to keep in touch with each other. If you want to learn how a job applicant will conduct his or herself in the professional world, visit LinkedIn. Whether someone snapped a picture of Joe Bob Jones doing a keg stand at a party when he was 19 years old has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on his ability to perform whatever job you're hiring for.
Everyone shows poor judgment in college. Our last three presidents used illegal drugs. So did the greatest Olympian of all time. Lord Byron and St. Augustine were famous for their youthful indiscretions.
Intelligent employers will take a Facebook photo or wall post for what it is - an out-of-context snapshot of one very particular moment in time. A picture of a guy holding a red plastic cup doesn't mean he's an alcoholic and a picture of a girl wearing a low-cut shirt doesn't mean she's a slut.
Superficial judgments will hurt a company in ways beyond just filtering out some of the most qualified applicants. Kellogg used to have a top 10 reputation among consumers. When it canceled Michael Phelps' endorsement contract because of a photo showing him with a bong, it dropped to No. 83.
The Internet, the development of social tagging and the affordability of consumer camcorders ensure that when today's kids sow their wild oats, everyone knows about it. If the only people allowed to get jobs in the future are those who never screwed up, it's going to be a very boring world. It's absurd that brilliant college graduates could be flipping burgers because someone tagged them in a freak-dancing photo three years ago.
I'm not going to pretend that I've never been guilty of Facebook judging. I don't date girls who haven't favorited any movies older than they are, and I usually assume that those who list themselves as "single" instead of just leaving the spot blank are desperate.
These are pretty some bad rules. They're based on generalization and stereotyping, and I'm getting rid of them. After all, some of the most interesting people I've ever met have Twilight bumper stickers littering their boxes page.
To be clear, I'm not saying that college students should go out and party every night or shouldn't use common sense when posting photos or notes. (And please, no more whiny break-up "poetry.") Right and wrong exists, and there are consequences for actions. Most employers don't read the Traveler and probably wouldn't take my advice, anyway.
What I am saying is that we all need to take what we see on Facebook with a grain of salt. A profile can help you get to know someone, but it can never give you the whole picture.
Adam Roberts is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. This is his final column.
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