“Let’s hang out”: an everyday line that immediately brings up the classic image of a group of teens getting together after school at a neighborhood café or someone’s house.
But today that image has changed. Today’s tech savvy teens “hang” in virtual space. Their “group” is comprised of friends and acquaintances made not only at school, but also at summer camps, sports meets, music rehearsals, trips abroad and many other places. Instead of the neighborhood café, they are tethered to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. These platforms allow them to connect with each other, regardless of time zone differences and geographical distances. And so the words “Let’s hang out” mean to tune into any or all of these social network channels and catch up on life.
Social networking channels retain every tiny bit of information of the account holder— what one likes, does not like, where one lives, favorite brands, food, shops, friends, songs, etc. Nothing personal, one can say. Yet, it is enough material to build an online personality that can convey a lot to anyone who is curious enough to look.
And who might that be?
College admissions officers.
According to The New York Times, college admissions officers quite often check the online personality of applicants and assess the student’s compatibility with the philosophy of the school.
“I think that colleges are pretty savvy to online social media. They get another picture of applicants that way. It is probably becoming more and more common for them to check it, especially with very competitive schools,” social science and forensics teacher Darcy Butrimas said. “Online posts stay in someone’s Facebook forever, even after the page is taken down. I think it would be wise to be careful. Even if things are unintentional, it sticks like glue.”
Therefore, it is wise to be careful of the kind of material that we post on our walls. After all, what happens on social media stays on social media forever.
Let’s analyze a few social media lifestyles of typical teenagers and assess their college admission chances.
- The Thoughtless
Someone who posts every single thought that comes to mind, even on extremely sensitive topics. Further, their pictures are not refined, the choice of language is foul, and on top of it all, this teenager blasts anyone who challenges him or her.
“If what they are posting is offensive or rude, then it would have way more of an influence on their admissions process than the others,” senior Caroline White said. “I’ll occasionally go on my dad’s Facebook, and one of his nieces posts all the time about her baby and the pictures are always of her at home living with her mother. As I’m scrolling, I just think, ‘Instead of posting, why don’t you go out and get a job to become financially stable and provide for your son by yourself?’”
The online personality of this teenager is not pretty and will definitely not appeal to any college admissions officer.
Result: Admission denied.
- The Loudmouth
Loves to brag about everything and anything under the Sun. The list includes restaurants visited, movies watched, hottest sales on shoes and bags, biggest crushes, painful heartbreaks and so forth. Sadly, no one believes this person and everyone ignores what gets posted. This teen is a perfect example of someone with zero substance and very low credibility.
Result: Admission denied.
“I think if the person gets excessive with their posting it gets kind of irritating, but I do think that colleges will take note of that sort of personality,” junior Sarina Kothari said. “Social media is a place to express yourself but on the other hand, there is always a limit in expressing yourself.”
- The attention seeker
This teen desperately wants to top the list of having the maximum number of “friends” on social media. This teen is quick to respond to posts of others and “likes” everything and anything that others broadcast, regardless of whether he/she believes in it or not, just to remain popular with everybody.
“I know a handful of people who are like this. It gets pretty frustrating and I consider whether I should unfollow them or not. I’m relatively interested in what they have to post, but the interest dwindles after the third or fourth consecutive post,” sophomore Kaitlin Gasner said. “Like the old saying goes, ‘Actions speak louder than words, and with social media, your actions are visible to just about everyone, even college admissions officers.”
This teen will post anything that the student body will “like,” even if it goes against the spirit of the school or the rules of teachers.
Result: Admission denied.
Some social media sites provide a false sense of security by promising pictures and videos that “vanish” instantly. However, one fails to realize that these allegedly evanescent digital images could be permanently captured through simple screenshots. It would be foolish to believe that such social media sites are beyond the supervision of adults and provide a safe hideout for immature teens to exhibit their worst behavior.
“We strongly encourage all students to be smart about what they put on the Internet,” Admission Counselor Brooke Pankau from Rollins College said. “Even with privacy settings, most material that is uploaded to the Internet is permanent and can be traced. It’s a good idea to keep profiles clean and professional not just for college admission, but also for employment.”
Seniors recall that the Trinity Prep college counseling office reminds them to be aware of posts on social media. Phrases such as “Be careful of what you post on social media because the admissions people always look at your profile,” serve as helpful reminders for us to have a clean online persona.
Last, let us not forget that the result of a few moments of adolescent foolishness have the potential to create a lasting negative impact on our college admissions.
Unfortunately, there is no delete button in life.