<p>In this age of tech and social media, it becomes more likely that someone’s social media page might present their first impression to others. One of my nieces (not from our area) is living in another state and has a boyfriend of about 6 months whom we have not met. </p>
<p>I just learned that our vacations will be crossing paths this weekend and we will be meeting the new BF. Several months ago, I checked out his Facebook page and was not impressed. Suffice it to say, I was surprised that Niece would be dating this individual. I try hard to be civil to everyone, and I have to hope I can be civil to the BF this weekend, but it got me to thinking about the positives and negatives of having our first impression be that left by our online activity. </p>
<p>My kid is “meeting” some of his Class of 201x through the college facebook group, and most of the participants are being wisely cautious about using the medium for more than a plain introduction, since what is presented on facebook isn’t necessarily reflective of reality, and the “facebook image” can promote very false expectations about what a person is like irl.</p>
<p>That can be a hazard with facebook. I often find that a persons real life persona is a lot better than their online persona… a lot of people seem to think “it’s just the internet, it doesn’t matter if I spell correctly or say ignorant things.” I am judgmental of that in itself, but if the person turns out not to be ignorant offline I might be able to forget it if I don’t look at their facebook again… it’s just such a common thing I’ve learned to filter.</p>
<p>My facebook is probably not presenting the most flattering image possible, but my page isn’t public and I don’t add people I don’t already know. I did meet my fiance online, but that was on a dating website… you may or may not be surprised to know that most people do not seem to put any more effort into their dating profiles than they do into their facebooks. Maybe these profiles show the truth and the in-person persona is the lie, who knows. </p>
<p>I recognize with Facebook you’ll know if it’s the “right” person if you can see their friends’ list or other identifying info, but I’d say be careful with social media if someone has a common name. I know if I googled my own name, there are probably 50 other women with that name, some of whom are undoubtedly around my age or live in the same general geographical area, and it’s quite possible someone might mistake their Twitter feeds, etc. for mine (I don’t have a Twitter, but you know what I mean).</p>
<p>I’ve made it a habit not to look people up anymore. My FMIL did that with me and decided before she met me that I wasn’t a good fit for her son. I’m sure his extended family looked at mine as well and did not approve. </p>
<p>I have a similar problem as PG. My name is very common and I could easily be mistaken for someone else. Not so much for FB because I use my first and middle name, but for LinkedIn and such. I’m not even the only person with my name in my Master’s program. </p>