Are We Destined to Overshare?

Why the world is becoming more transparent.


Sharing is something we all learn as children and it's a great skill. On the whole, it has benefited humanity in many, many ways. For example, when you are looking for a new job, having people in your network who can share job search advice and leads is a huge help. However, I think that we have begun taking the idea of sharing to a new level, and one that I'm not very comfortable with.


If you look at social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and so on, you'll see posts from people who feel compelled to share every single moment of their lives. At first, it's sort of fun. When I am out shopping and something funny happens, I have no problem sharing it with my friends on Twitter. The problem is that this record of our mundane activities has a life of its own.


In fact, there are many sites that beg all of us to share everything we read, what we listen to and where we are. There are many apps that have a default setting that shares what music you are listening to with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Do I really want everyone to know that I have a weakness for 80's music? Not really. I mean, just because I want to jam out with Lisa Lisa and The Cult Jam and play "All Cried Out" over and over, doesn't mean I want everyone to know that. I always turn these sharing features off on principle.


The reason isn't because I don't want to share. It's because, for one, no one can convince me that anyone actually cares what music I am listening to. The other, bigger reason is that I listen to music on my iPhone with headphones on. I do this because I enjoy that private time with myself. No one needs to know what I'm listening to and for once, I don't have to take anyone's opinions or tastes in consideration. If everything I played was shared with the world, my play list would be very different.


What makes matters worse is that now, what you share, whether it's a Facebook page you like, an article you read and put in your Facebook timeline or the music you share, becomes information that potential employers use to judge your ability to perform a job. Let's say that one day after a frustrating call to customer service somewhere, you "like" the Facebook page "Why do I have to press one for English, If you are in this country learn the language". Maybe it's in poor taste, but I don't think it is a good reason to be forever seen as a racist.


Still don't think it matters? Well, just to prove my point, I'll tell you about a new company called Social Intellegence. I've written about them before, but since then, the company has grown in popularity. Basically, what they do is search the Internets and produce every piece of information you've ever shared and then they give the folder to your potential employer. It's like a background check without regulation. When you agree to a traditional background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates what your new employer can and can not see. With an Internet check, these rules don't apply. The reasoning is that since you shared it voluntarily, you must not care who sees it.


This means that your Internet background check will show anytime you've given a bad product review, talked about controversial issues like politics or abortion on a web forum, the articles you've shared, pictures on your Facebook when you weren't looking your best or were drinking and so on.


My problems with this are so many, I don't know where to begin. We have to accept that everyone is different and who we are and what we are interested in doesn't have anything to do with how well we can perform a job. Personally, I don't care if my postal carrier parties on weekends and posts pictures of it on Facebook. It makes no difference to me if, in the privacy of their own computer, my child's teacher likes to read anarchy articles.The way I see it, if you can't be yourself online, then where can you?


The other concern is that it would be so easy for someone with a grudge to create a fake Facebook profile and just fill it with racist, homophobic or violent images and comments. I don't see how any company can be absolutely certain that the information they are finding is accurate. If it's wrong, how hard would it be to get it corrected?


Being judged on the content of your social media presence, in my mind, isn't fair. However, it's the way things are being done right now. All we can do is accept it and make sure that what we publish is what we want to share with the world at large. Hopefully, the regulations will change and prevent this type of invasion of our privacy and our rights to have a life outside of the office will be re-affirmed. Until then, check your accounts and make sure that you aren't losing job opportunities based on the things you have on your Facebook.


What do you think about internet background checks? Please share your thoughts in the comments.


By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for ManhattanJobsBlog and Nexxt. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel