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Social Networking
Build Virtual Communities Before Arrival
Social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter offer students wonderful opportunities to begin building virtual communities even before they arrive on campus. Incoming students are often able to join groups established for their residence halls on Facebook and begin talking with people all around the world who will soon be their roommates and neighbors.
Negative First Impressions
At the same time, profiles on these social networking sites can contribute to negative first impressions by students’ roommates and neighbors. When establishing a personal profile on these sites, students should be conscientious of the messages they relay about themselves through text and photos. It is the students’ responsibility to manage their online identities and to control their privacy settings in order to protect their identities as well.
Inflammatory Comments
Comments that express intolerance towards people different from themselves, disparaging remarks about specific individuals, and photos depicting unbecoming acts often lead to conflicts between students living together and can result in the loss of leadership positions both on and off campus.
Privacy Concerns
Future employers may refer to these social networking sites as well, and it is in the students’ best interest to keep these factors in mind when creating their profiles. Privacy settings should be maintained according to who they wish to see their profile, as well as identity protection.