Random Social Media Musings

I've been studying PLNs for the past few days, and have been finding amazing information about them. In all honesty, PLNs can be anything interactive outside of the official work place, and even then, within the workplace there can be PLNs. The reason for the ease is PLNs? Technology and social media.

It's unbelievable how technology and social media have connected us in ways that was thought impossible only 10 even 20 years ago.

Think back on your first day of joining Facebook (For those of us in college with an .edu email) or even before then, MySpace, which was the first major social interactive platform for public consumption. Did you ever image that everything you do online would be significant and potentially play a role in how you get a raise, a promotion or even acquiring a job?

I was giving a presentation to some undergraduate leaders for my fraternity and social media came up. Let's be honest. Fraternity and sorority members may not be the smartest users of social media, which needs to be addressed, but that's another post. We spent almost an hour discussing and debating the implications of throwing up photos from parties, or a night out at the bar, or even suggestive photos from Spring Break. As the conversation progressed, it dawned on me that the implications of social media that I have come to learn about, are taken advantage of by the younger generation who have always been involved in social media and technology. They understand the uses of it, and how to manipulate it, and create it. However, there seems to be a disconnect with appropriateness. We went through several of the brothers' profiles for examples. (Let me tell you we saw many fine examples of what NOT to do.) However, conversing with them and finding out why they posted such things and thoughts became apparent. Social media seems to be their diaries and journals. The hand writing days are gone, and electronic media is in. For an example, in one of my classes Grumpy Cat came up, and the concept that Memes today, are our parents' political cartoons from the newspapers.

Looking at social media from their generation as their diaries and their lives, I can see how many are getting in trouble and how it is becoming a challenge for them when it comes time to create a professional image. We are asking many to change their personal expression into a professional PLN, more or less.

I've personally had challenges with this, and have learned both the easy and hard ways on the effects of social media in my professional life. However, when the personal and professional are all but merging and social media is becoming a lifestyle and primary avenue for interaction, how can Student Affairs Professionals help draw that line between personal and professional for our students as well as understanding that social media is the next generation's way of expression?