People should be held accountable for their social media posts even if it means losing their job

Social Media:Truth or Just Mistakes

PRO

BY DANI ROTERT CO-PHOTO EDITOR

Almost everyone has posted something on social media in the past that they completely regret. Whether that be from when they were ignorant and uninformed or a recent mistake that they decided to share with the world via the Internet, we all have skeletons in the closet that we hide.

As our world becomes increasingly centered around technology, there has been an endless amount of times where people have been either fired or publicly shamed for their past on the Internet. There is nowhere to hide with the Internet and every shameful comment, lie or embarrassing photo will end up coming out sooner or later. The truth of the matter is that these actions need to be punished and the behavior shown within these posts on social media cannot be tolerated by our society. People have the freedom of speech which allows them to share their ideas and thoughts on the Internet through their social media.

However, a company also has complete reign on what they want to have represent themselves and their brand. This includes the employees they have hired or potential employees and how they represent themselves on the Internet. It is the company's right and duty to make sure their employees do not have anything on their Facebooks or Instagrams that could come back and inadequately represent the companies, leading to a potentially enormous scandal. This has been seen numerous times with large companies firing employees for a post, like or comment put on their social media for the whole world to view.

A notable example of this is the case of former Public Relations Executive of IAC Justine Sacco. While heading on a trip to South Africa, she tweeted, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” Without her knowledge, her tweet had gained substantial traction on Twitter which caused her employer to see the offensive tweet. Before she even landed in Africa, Sacco was fired. There is no reason for companies to stand behind ignorant statements such as Sacco and should in turn fire those whom can only seem to use the Internet to spread hatred.

There needs to be repercussions for racism and bigotry on the Internet. If nothing is done over these posts, then nothing in our society can change. In order to get individuals to understand that their jokes are offensive, there needs to be some backlash other than a couple of comments. People need to learn that they cannot just hide behind their screens and say hateful things. The only way to truly make others see this is to have real-life consequences for those who decide to spread hatred on the Internet.

As employees’ pasts are important to search through, it is also important to search through the past of those in the spotlight - celebrities. Searching through celebrities’ past for drama is not a new thing. However, it is becoming more and more prevalent today. With the Black Lives Matter and the Me Too movements, celebrities have found it harder to hide from their social media past.

In July, James Gunn was fired from directing the third volume of “The Guardians of the Galaxy” series due to rape jokes he posted on twitter.

It is very important for these celebrities and other people of influence in our world to be held to the same standards as the everyday citizen, especially when it comes to social media. If young impressionable children see their favorite actor or singer posting something inappropriate then they will begin to believe that it is okay for them to say these things continuing the cycle of harmful language.

The only way to truly keep the past from haunting the future is to post things that spread positivity instead of hate. Be proud of your portrayal on social media and you will never be caught up in a major scandal or have your dream job slip through your fingers over something posted just five years before.

From the Students' Point of View...

"You're representing yourself and your workplace on social media. A racial slur or sexist comment online is no more acceptable than saying it out loud in the workplace." -senior Anna Nastasi