Picture this, you post what you think is a seemingly harmless joke on social media, then out of no where people begin to video you in public, flood you with death and rape threats, a family member says you're a disgrace, and you even get fried from your own job! Well, this is exactly what happened to Justine Sacco, who had her reputation ruined by what she put out on social media. Even if it was just meant to be a harmless joke, others can be easily offended by it and not think about it in the same way you did. What you put on the internet stays there forever, which is why the things you choose to put on social media have a huge affect on how your reputation is portrayed.

Social media can affect your reputation because it  affects the opportunities you will get in life. According to CareerBuilder’s survey, they found that 51% of their employees who did their due diligence used social media to find out more about potential candidates for hire, were not hired due to the content of their social media pages. This goes on to prove my point because what you post on your social media gives you a certain reputation to employers, and in some cases it may close great job opportunities. It may even affect the chances of you getting your dream job due to the fact that social media projects a reputation onto you based on what you put on it. Another example of how someone’s online social media reputation closed opportunities for them would be Naomi H., who had her internship for NASA recalled due to a twitter post. Again, you should always be cautious of what you post on social media because if you say something to the wrong person, just as Naomi did on twitter, you can get huge opportunities taken away. Everything you post on social media determines your reputation since others have no real life interactions to go off of, which is why it’s important to be cautious of what you post.

What you put on the internet stays there forever, no matter if it was deleted.

A friend of mine actually got in a lot of trouble because of something she posted as a joke two years ago. Just because you deleted something off the internet doesn’t mean that it’s gone forever. Technology is now more advanced than ever and more people have access to the internet than ever before, meaning things could possibly be screen shotted by others or privately logged to social media the server forever. Popular youtuber Shane Daweson was even exposed for his past blackface and racial slurs, a video of him surfaced of him pretending to masturbate to a poster of 11 year old WIllow Smith. This goes to show that no matter how long ago something wrong you did was, it can always resurface, just as it did for Shane Daweson. It set a horrible reputation for himself and his life will never be quite the same again. This is why you should always think before you post because later in life something you posted a while ago as a teenager or even an adult could come back to haunt you, just like it did to Shane.

Now, some people might say that you can’t judge a person solely based on what they post on social media. They might say that you have to actually get to know the person or meet them to then decide if they really deserve the reputation they have online, but I beg to differ. I feel as if today people tend to show their true colors more through social media because they are hiding behind a screen. Sure people make the wrong decision and post something stupid, but you have to know that they thought that in some way shape or form they thought it would be a good idea to post that. What you post really is a reflection of how you act so i would say that social media does give you an accurate reputation.

Everything you put on the internet comes with consequences, and sometimes those consequences damage your reputation. No matter the age it is always important to know what you put on social media. Now more than ever social media has more of an affect over our lives than ever before. It plays a huge role in whether or not we will get accepted into college or get a job. In an instant social media has the ability to ruin your reputation faster than you can build one. This is why I strongly encourage you to think before you post on social media, if it’s not something you would want your grandparents to see, then chances are you shouldn’t post it.