Ok. Let’s take a moment and think about social media profiles — your Facebook, your Twitter, even the videos you upload on YouTube. All of these profiles are a reflection of you, good or bad. Go login into your Facebook page, and take a long, hard look at your profile, what does it say about you? Is it accurate? Then go look at your Twitter profile, what conclusions would a stranger, potential boss, potential mate, potential professor, your parents or even your grandparents make from your tweets?

If you are on Facebook talking about your drug use, drinking, partying or dating/marital relationship drama, you should understand that does not reflect professionalism or portray you as a person who knows the value of discretion.

As Americans we have a right to freedom of speech; however that does not mean you are excluded from the repercussions that may come from your free speech. If you hate your job or your boss, vent to a trusted friend or your spouse, do not post it on your public Twitter or Facebook page.

Falcons, the moral of this social media story is simple: somebody is always watching you. Your current state is just that — current. You may currently be a college student or office manager, but five years from now you may be a CEO or seeking a job in your career field and old social media posts may and can very well come back to haunt you.

Someday you will be a parent (if you are not already), and you may not want your children to know you liked to fist fight outside of your dorm room. You are somebody’s daughter or son, and you may not want them to know that you can curse like a sailor. Use discretion and common sense when using social media websites.

Whatever, you say is in the Internet atmosphere forever and cannot be taken back!

Tips for Social Media Sites:

• Use discretion. Some things should remain private, such as your PRIVATE life.
• Avoid foul language, it is unprofessional and can be received as offensive and immature.
• If you don’t want everybody in your business, don’t put your business out there via Facebook or Twitter.
• Utilize your privacy settings, if you and your professor or boss are Facebook friends, you may want to put them on a limited profile. If you are a student-athlete and you like to tweet about controversial issues, make your profile private, but be aware that your comments could still become public.