Walk of shame coming to a classroom near you
It is past midnight and you are walking out of a bar with your friends, ready to reach your bed in record time and sleep off the hangover. What you are not prepared for is having one of those friends take revenge on you by snapping a photo of you in your drunken glory because you gave her number to some sleazy guy back at the bar. With disheveled hair and green in the face, the photo finds its way straight to the most popular social media tyrant on the web: Facebook.
Some say that if their boss or coworkers could see the embarrassing times of their private lives on the web, it could be the end of their reputation they have been working so hard to maintain.
Regardless of who is sitting on the other end of your online community, it is inappropriate for it to be anyone with a position of authority over you.
But what if one of your professors were on the other end of those social media updates?
Today, social media has become so popular that it now plays an essential role in most everyone's life. It has changed the way we connect and share with each other, who we let into our personal lives, and has essentially blurred the border of what is and what is not appropriate.
Natalia Bortwovskaya, a Santa Monica College student, said that Facebook can be a way for professors to distribute school materials in a way that accommodates students.
Although social media is a valuable tool for sharing information, completing class material in a school setting reinforces having an appropriate academic attitude. When forms of social media are brought onto the scene, a sense of aloofness takes over and encourages distraction for students.
While New York's Newsday social media posting suggests that some might see "friending" your boss as a way to boost your career, college professors cannot be seen in the same light.
SMC student Magne Booc "friended" her English professor on Facebook because of academic reasons such as homework and other assignments, which are regularly posted.
“Facebook has the option to hide posts from certain people that you don't want to see your things," Booc said.
While Booc makes a valid point, it is important to understand that human error will never rescind, regardless of how much technology evolves or is presented to us.
A typographical error can always be made, a sleepy post’s privacy setting can be forgotten and tagging "John Smith" instead of "John Schmidt" in your photos will always be a typical human mistake.
Leave room to consider the unavoidable fact of human error, do not friend your professor on Facebook, do not assume that your weekends on the boulevard will remain your personal experiences and, oh yeah, do not friend your professor on Facebook.