<p>So I’ve always put down Facebook, putting down Facebook is just a part of who I am. But now that I plan on campaigning for a position in school office, people constantly tell me a Facebook account is necessary for campaigning. I do think, however, the fact that employers and college adcoms check it out seems kind of deterring (not saying I do anything bad, just saying that it is probably better to just not have one). Thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes.
It’s also necessary if you don’t want to be viewed as socially ■■■■■■■■. Sad, but it’s how HS is now.
Edit: The whole ‘herp-derp authority figures magically have the right to view my private profile just because’ is so untrue.
No one can look at your profile without your permission (in the form of an accepted friend request). I bet a boss or adcom would get in HUGE legal trouble if they refused to hire/accept someone because of something they saw on someone’s facebook that they weren’t friends with.</p>
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Nevaaa!</p>
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I concur.</p>
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Not in the least. I (and several people I know) do not have one without large repercussions. I find it less social to type a message to friend than to give them a call.</p>
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</p>
<p>No. What you put on the internet is there forever, and anyone can use it against you.</p>
<p>^
adcoms cannot check your facebook without you adding them first</p>
<p>If it’s public, it’s there. That’s all I’m saying.</p>
<p>^^^ Wow your junior-high librarians really put the fear of God into you, didn’t they? Lol. Yes, it’s there forever, but unless it’s on Google Images no one of consequence will ever see/care about it. The odds of you making the first few pages on Google Images is basically nil, so no one is ever going to see your party or whatever. And, unless you specifically give them permission, people aren’t allowed to see your Facebook, and CERTAINLY can’t reject you for seeing something they weren’t allowed to see.
(Also, how do you propose the adcoms see your FB in the first place? Will they hack the servers of a billion-dollar website just to check a teenager’s pictures?)</p>
<p>@francaismatt- Which is why everyone puts at least some restrictions on their facebook.</p>
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Adcoms don’t have to justify why they reject you.</p>
<p>^Exactly 10</p>
<p>^^
<em>exhausted face</em>
And how do you propose that they see what you post on Facebook?</p>
<p>Um. Just keep your Facebook clean? It’s really not that hard. Anyone who can’t do it is dumb. </p>
<p>Heck, all of my bosses are friends with me on facebook. It’s really beneficial whenever you want to plan something. It’s a much bigger pain to contact people individually via text or whatever. Trust me, in college, if you don’t have a facebook, 95% of the time you are COMPLETELY out of the loop. </p>
<p>Just get one and keep it clean.</p>
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Correct, nor employers. If they did, they would get sued for every reason they gave.</p>
<p>As for facebook, I know someone who had a private profile, but had a friend with a public one that showed up on their search result, and that friend’s page had a few stupid comments by the person. They didn’t get a job, and someone they knew working at the company told him that the boss said he found it and that he “weighed it on the negative side.” Obviously we can’t know if that was the main reason for not getting a job, but when it’s a possibility, it’s not smart. When you’re an employer deciding between three people, it is possible. When you’re an admissions officer deciding amongst 30,000, it’s not going to happen.</p>
<p>Anyway, I don’t like facebook because of the type of communication it fosters. Internet communication with people you wouldn’t otherwise communicate with is fine, but why not call a friend? Or meet up? Why broadcast your views, beliefs, persona, and every little thought to everyone you know? I was a part of a public presentation on social networking, and I remember that there was a psychological study showing that social networking stimulates the narcissistic parts of the brain. Don’t have it to cite, though, just thought it was interesting.</p>
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</p>
<p>It’s more convenient to leave a message? You use said message to make plans? There are plenty of really useful things Facebook offers. It’s up to you how involved you are in Facebook.</p>
<p>I don’t think you guys quite get what Minnesotaguy is trying to say. They CANNOT SEE what you post on your Facebook. They don’t have some magical power to see something that is PRIVATE just because they said so. Unless you’re stupid and have all your information out in the open, they CANNOT see any information you post on Facebook that you don’t want them to see. </p>
<p>Also, unless you have some really obscure name, there’s probably going to be 45824738572184 other people with the same name as you, and without mutual friends or networks, it’s quite difficult to find somebody on Facebook with just a name. </p>
<p>Anyways, to answer your original question. Facebook is not necessary; however, it does help with staying updated with all the social happenings… and a lot of large corporations, school clubs, schools, etc. have caught up with technology and have been posting information on Facebook (I know a couple of clubs I’m in they keep the members updated through the Facebook page) so it is very helpful to have one.</p>
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Have you heard of a little thing called “privacy settings”?</p>
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I’m not proposing anything. I’m just saying that an Adcom can reject you for any reason.</p>
<p>Wasn’t there recently a news story about Facebook selling people’s information?</p>
<p>^
Not facebook, ad companies. And they sell stuff like email addresses, not pictures.
I really don’t get why everyone assumes everyone one else in the world has some secret plot to steal or see all their unbelievably interesting statuses.</p>
<p>^This is unrelated to Facebook, but there ARE information companies out there that know practically every single little thing about you. They sell this information to ad companies to use for producing advertisements.</p>
<p>Run a google image search of your name in parentheses. I found myself on page 5. And my name is pretty much as generic as they come.</p>