Smart Social Media Tips for Students

    photo by Anthony Quintano/Flickr

There's nothing more impressing than millennial students with their capability and potential to be stronger leaders than past generations. Life is much simpler with the web and all its information at the tips of your fingers. 

According to EssayKitchen.com, a website with academic help is a sight many are used to, not like the past generations with their “look it up in the encyclopedia.” You often use the information you access across the web to change the world to be a better place to live.

    We cannot forget how you and your 50 friends and closest door-mates use the web to make Harlem Shake videos. Before you fetch your smartphone from your pocket and share something with people on the web, I have a few tips you need to think about. Be it a video, photo or a status update.

    I also get why you do not like being told what to do (especially what not to do). You Only Live Once, remember? Something important is that I would want all of you to avoid being kicked out of that spot in the team, damage your online reputation forever, or even losing a scholarship. You'll save yourself all this trouble by doing this one simple thing: Think before you post.

    Sometimes students ask why employers judge them by the kind of friends they keep or even events posted during their college years. The answer is, with the tough job market, they will readily and easily judge you. This also has a different meaning: locking your social media accounts such that no one sees what you are doing stinks of suspicion, especially during an interview. Employers want to Google you, see a positive light about you, not just that selfie you posted last month.

    Snelling.com say that 86 percent of employers these days are going to your social networks before they invite you for an interview. 94 percent of grad schools also care about the online reputation of a potential student. It is not too late to start making the necessary adjustments.

    Here are tips on making sure that your online profile is everything you would want it to be. First, pull down any negative pictures or posts. You are judged by the company you keep. Keep in mind that nothing ever goes away when put it up on the Internet. You can also make that decision to be connected in all of your social media accounts with someone whose opinion you value highly. While at it, make sure you make your social media accounts private. Keeping privacy policies enables you to filter what the rest of the world sees of you. You can also set a Google Alert to let you know first whenever you are mentioned on Google or if you are tagged in a photo, tweet or status.

You also need to know that just because you never posted a photo of a certain event does not mean that you never had fun during the event. Sometimes you have to stop yourself from posting every little detail happening in your life. You can also download secure.me, a free app that lets you know what looks less reputable in your Facebook posts, profile and pictures. Another tip is laughter, you know what they say, it is the best medicine. While laughing, you can also decide to give yourself a break from your phone. This comes especially at times when someone has upset you, and you have a feeling you'll say something you'll come to regret later in life. Finally, you can read the book, Are you Sure You Want To Post that? It is authored by Gail Hand.