Social Media in Education

Social Media and College

When I was in high school, I was told to watch what I put on social media because colleges will look at what I post. Then, when I was getting my teaching degree, I was told to be cautious about what gets posted publicly in case my employer looked me up. There was so much pressure about my online presence. Yet, I was not sure if employers were actually that thorough. This week, I explored multiple article pertaining to college and social media usage. I chose this because I work with first year students at university and used to work with middle schoolers, so it is very relevant to my work.

Image Source: US News

How to Sabotage Your Chances

I learned that from a Kaplan survey, the study found that nearly 36% of college admission's officers admitted to checking student's online. I didn't expect the number to be that high considering that, depending on the college, there could be thousands of applications to go through.

I think this article promotes the idea that it isn't guaranteed that a student's profile should be viewed, but students should act like it will be. This means that students should consider "cleaning up" their social media pages and repair their digital image while there is still time. This gives me an idea to teach a lesson, especially for seniors in high school, to start working on their online identity. This can either mean setting their profiles to private, or using social media to their benefit to showcase their skills.

The Increase of Social Media Checks

As mentioned before, nearly 1/3 of college Admissions Officers look at social media profiles of prospective students. I wasn't surprised that their searches brought mixed results. Specifically, the article mentions that 38% Admissions Officers found something positive about the students, while 32% have found something negative. How many of those 32% of students were found ineligible due to their social media presence?

While social media may be something that could be checked, Admissions Offices mainly use letters of recommendation, SAT/ACT scores, school involvement, and GPA to judge students. This gives me the idea that perhaps instructors should give out a "Admissions Handout" for juniors and seniors with reminders to join a club, go to a ACT/SAT study session, ask for a letter of recommendation, and check their social media for compromising information. I think this would help set students up for success.

How Social Media Can Be A "Good Witch"

Alan Katzman, CEO of Social Assurity, reflects that although colleges use GPA and ACT/SAT scores in applications, social media might be another way they look at a student's eligibility. While this concerned me at first, Katzman argues that social media can help a student who may not have the highest scores on their application. After reading this, it really opened my eyes to the ways students could use technology to their advantage. 

This makes me think that we need to teach students how to use social media in a way that benefits their digital persona. For example, we can use the school's social media page to post community-based projects the students have done. Students in high school can begin building their LinkedIn profiles, or create a Google Sites page featuring their portfolio. This is especially beneficial for students who want to go into business, writing, or the arts.

Takeaways

Social media isn't going anywhere. Most, if not all, of our students use social media to some capacity. If we want to better prepare students for entering higher education and/or the workforce, we should teach them about digital privacy. This way, they can protect compromising activity that could hurt them in the future. Also, we should come up with ways to adjust their "digital tattoo" to include community projects, research, or blogs that improve their digital persona. 

References

1. Branard, B. How to sabotage your chances to get into college. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/07/how-to-sabotage-your-chance-to-get-into-college/

2. Jaschik, S. (2020). Rise seen in admissions officers checking social media. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/01/13/more-admissions-officers-last-year-check-social-media?utm_source=Social+Assurity+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e2da6d96be-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_07_12_02_48_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e4e3298fae-e2da6d96be-126983889

3. Katzman, A. (2020) How can social media be a "good witch" for college admissions?. Intrepid News. https://intrepidednews.com/why-colleges-look-at-students-social-media/#

4. Moody, J. (2019). Why colleges look at student's social media accounts. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2019-08-22/why-colleges-look-at-students-social-media-accounts