The Price of Social Networking

How much privacy do we really have online? There are currently millions of people all over the world using Facebook. Websites like Facebook and Myspace are very useful for staying in touch with friends and networking, but what is the price we pay to use these sites?

Andrea Payne, a public high school English teacher from Georgia, lost her job in August 2009 because of a picture she posted on her Facebook profile.

Payne took this picture while she was on a European vacation. Under this photo on her profile there was a caption including an inappropriate word. Payne's Facebook account was set to private and she thought only her friends and family could see the photos. An anonymous email was sent to the principle of her school complaining about the photo of Payne and the language she used in the caption. In a CBS news report Payne stated,

"I wouldn't use it [vulgar language] in a classroom, no," she said. "But Facebook is not the classroom. And it's not open to the students of my classroom. They are not supposed to see it. I have privacy in place so they don't see it."

Payne has hired an attorney and is currently battling in court with her previous employer to try to get her job back.

I think the lesson we can learn from this situation is to control the content on our social networking profiles. A useful blog post I found, "How to avoid getting fired by Facebook", offers several tips on how to monitor and control what information is available to others. The article suggests googling yourself often to see what the search results show. Also suggested is removing comments or pictures that you wouldn't feel comfortable sharing with your co-workers or employers.

As a member of Generation Y, also known as the Millennials (born in the 1980's or later), we are among the most tech savvy and connected group to enter the workforce yet. Most of us use social networking and have no qualms when it comes to posting pictures and sharing information with our peers online. Unfortunately though, as we enter the workforce we will have to start learning how to cut back on the amount of information we share. Andrea Payne is proof of what can happen to a Gen Y individual who uses social networking, our sharing of information and connecting with others can come at a great price.


Kate Shoaf
Communications & Spanish Major
Flagler College