Facebook - to Post or Not to Post

Saddler 1

J'autenae Saddler Edward Miller English 125

May 6th, 2016

“To Post Or Not to Post”

        There are over 750 million users on Facebook and counting, including others popular apps such as Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and other social networking sites to post our thoughts or pictures of last night’s latest “Buzzfeed Food” attempt. Chances are good that many of your fellow employees just may have a social media presence. Yes, this means they aren’t weird flesh eating zombies outside of the cubicle.

You may think that what you post on social media is solely for friends and family, not coworkers and bosses. But what if your boss comes across your page and doesn't find pictures from that one “crazy night out after work” very tasteful? Can you be fired for what you choose to post on your personal accounts?  Yes, you can. It’s happened plenty of times before. But should you?

At this point in the digital age there's probably enough evidence to make people think twice about what they say or do online, right? Wrong. Not too long ago, a picture went viral. It was a Taco Bell employee licking a stack of unused taco shells. Once again, demonstrating the unintended, but probably not unexpected; side effects of social media. The fact that it was shared on someone's personal social media account violated the franchisee's policies, resulting in the termination of the employee.

        Of course there have been multiple incidents where there have been law enforcers, teachers, doctors, etc. who have been fired for more or less; whether it be a tweet or a picture. Truthfully, as an employer, you have the right to control what employees do with the time and equipment you pay for, generally speaking. However, when employees use their own computers to express their own opinions on their own time, an employer's legal rights are definitely limited.

        There are hundreds of other stories online about people losing their jobs over social media. Don’t be one of those people. Avoid posting anything negative or offensive about your job, work place, bosses or employees. This includes aspects in your personal life as well. Remember, you’re still a representative of your company and there will always be those to make sure you act as such.