How Social Media Plays a Role in Your Future

One click can determine the rest of your life.  Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or a picture you posted on your blog, many colleges and companies look at social media accounts to determine whether they want you as an employee or student.  There are many mixed opinions on whether colleges and businesses have the right to search social media, and the debate seems to be constant.

To understand the opinions of students on the topic, The Scope asked sophomore Bijan Boroumand to give his input.  “I feel that social media reveals a lot about a person and colleges definitely have the right to [look at social media accounts,] but at the same time though, I believe that the colleges should not look at a social media account for a professional aspect, but rather to see true character traits of the person,” Boroumand explains.

However, Admissions Officer at the College of William and Mary, Justine Okerson, tells the Scope that social media accounts are not considered during the application process.  “While the College of William & Mary utilizes a holistic review process to review all portions of the application- we are only reviewing the application at hand, i.e. the rigor of coursework, performance in the classroom, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, essays, and extracurricular activities,” Okerson explains. William and Mary is one of the colleges that specializes its focus on how students prove their worth in an application to the school rather than how they act on the web.  “At William & Mary, we simply want to ensure the student has control over the impression they make in the application process,” Okerson clarifies.

It seems that while many institutions feel that social media accurately displays how people really behave, others are more focused on how the applicants appear in their applications.  It may not be a top consideration, but being smart online could be the final push to get your dream job or to get into the college you have been dreaming about attending since you were little.  After all, one click can determine your future.

Mobile phone with different social media applications.

Mobile phone with different social media applications.