Part 2 – Describing Communication Patterns

Running Head: Reflection-Self-Disclosure and Social Media 1

Week 7: Reflection-Self-Disclosure and Social Media

Osondu Elekwachi

Chamberlain College of Nursing

SPCH 227: Interpersonal communication

Elizabeth Nelson

July 2020

Week 7 Assignment: Template

1. Online Privacy and Disclosure

I was born in born in Nigeria in the middle 70s, so we grew up knowing nothing about social media or the internet. I still do remember life back then without social network and all these current technologies That are available now. When internet phones got to us and social media sites such Facebook came out, we all dove into it. At that time, we didn’t really care about privacy, but much later things changed, and I became conscious of what I posted online. I manage my privacy and self-disclosure settings online by making my posts visible only to those that are my friends. I also make some posts, videos and photos private where only I can view them. My social networks have restrictions on how they are viewed through search engines. If I want my profile to be viewed it can only be seen through the specific networks search engine and even after searching me by name only certain posts, videos and pictures are public, everything else can only be viewed by those I accept as a friend. All posts that are made available to view are non-biased opinions that refrain from expressing any views involving gender, race, sexual orientation and my political associations because I feel that is a private matter that is to be shared and discussed with my close friends. I will disclose posts about general things about me and nothing much else because I do not believe my personal business should be privy for all to see. Another aspect of sharing my posts is that my friends have access to them as well and can share what I say to others, so I am very careful of what I disclose for these purposes as well.

2. Admissions or Hiring

I do not believe employers or school officials should use the information they access from your social networks to make decisions on your employment or school admission status. This is an infringement of a person's freedom to express themselves. I think that sometimes people can lead from a biased perspective and may see a post they may not resonate with and use it to justify denial of employment or admissions. As long as the posts aren't posing a danger to self, others and do not interfere with a person’s ability to make decisions ethically I do not see a reason for what they post to be scrutinized and weigh heavily on their employment or school status. However, I do understand why some employers or schools might want to check for some information about a potential employee or student online and this is mainly because companies see people who work for them as a representative of the company. Therefore, the company or school wants to be sure that this person, will not inadvertently bring embarrassment to themselves and the company or the school.

3. Parental Implications

I would not add parents to my social media networks. I think there is a measure of professionalism I wish to maintain with parents. Having parents as friends on social media develops a more personal relationship in which they now have access to your private life. Having this access to social media can skew the lines of the relationship between teacher and parent which could lead to conflict, biases or lessen the level of respect towards each other. It is important to maintain the level of respect and separation of personal and professional in a workplace to eliminate the potential for conflict. Allowing personal and professional relations to intertwine could create issues in the workplace that can jeopardize your employment. I have added former parents as friends on my social networks only after we have maintained a relationship that extends beyond 5 years of being their child’s teacher. I have not changed my posting habits or changed my private settings because I am very careful about the subject matters, I post in the event I ever have my page viewed by a current or potential employer.

Conclusion

Technology and social media have been very beneficial to us all. It has turned the world into a global village. It makes it possible for us to connect to our family members and friends and maintain our relationships despite staying very far away from each other, “in today's world, it is undeniable that social media plays an important role in impacting our culture, economy, and overall view of the world (Amedie, 2015)”. However, we all need to be careful about what we post. People have lost their lives just because they posted something that showed their address and so attracted the killers. People have also lost careers just from careless post they did some time ago. The dangers of exposing too much information about ourselves is high, and by keeping our self-disclosure to a minimum in social media, we can avoid many mistakes that can affect us in the future.

References:

Amedie, J. (2015). The Impact of Social Media on Society. Scholar Commons.