Social Media: Is there a Need for Professional Best Practice Etiquette for
Undergraduate Students
Adalheidur Reed & Cathleen Norris
WhyThe social media service monitor
Reppler reported in a recent study with
over 300 professional participants that over
90% of employers use social media to
screen potential employees (Reppler,
2011).
Lack of research gauging professional social media training
for undergraduate students.
Purpose of the StudyInsufficient evidence base
determining undergraduate job or
career loss due to being unprofessional, under-
trained, unsophisticated social media citizens
(SMC).
Adding to the existing body of knowledge of undergraduate Social Media (SM) training.
Try to minimize undergraduate job or
career loss.
Increase undergraduate awareness to the harmful effects of unprofessional,
inappropriate SM behavior.
Research Questions
At what age do undergraduate students start using social
media?
Are undergraduate
students concerned as to how they portray themselves via social media?
Do undergraduate
students perceive
themselves to be professional social media
citizens?
Did the social media
educational tool change how the treated students
act via social media?
Do undergraduate students know
what best practices in professional social media
interactions are? (What are
undergraduate student’s
perceptions of negative and
positive professional social media interactions?)
When the undergraduate
students initially started using
social media did they understand
the possible professional impact their interactions could have?
Are undergraduate
students professional social media
citizens?
Social Media Educational Tool
Professional•Positive Promotion•Professional Promotion•Communicate•Respect•Network•Collaborate•Connect
Unprofessional•Negative Promotion•Unprofessional Promotion•Racism•Nudity•Violence•Politically Incorrect•Bullying•Profanity
(Bandura, 1977 )
Unprofessional Social Media Use
Loss of Education•Universities use social media for background checks (Burgos, 2012).
Loss of Job•Employers use social media for background checks (Reppler, 2011).
Loss of Career
Participants
The total number of
participants were 59 (N =
59)
Control Group Participants 15
Experimental Group LTEC
1100 Participants 22
Experimental Group CTEC 3350
Participants 22
Participants & Setting
Exp
eri
men
tal G
rou
p
CTE
C 3
35
0
This web design course was made-up of 22 students and was a face to face class that met 80 min twice a week.Prior to the first day of class students received e mailed containing this URL https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/364873626914157/ for a class Facebook Group and they were asked to join.First day class a syllabus stating that 10% of the class grade was partition in the class Facebook Group.Students were offered 10 bonus grade points for survey participation.Students used the Facebook Group through the fall 2012 semester as a learning management system.
Exp
eri
men
tal G
rou
p
LTE
C 1
10
0
Participants in group B will be a combination of two Learning Technology hybrid class sections; with a total of 27 students where each section met once a week for an hour and twenty minutes.The first day of class students in two course sections were informed that class information and networking would be communicated within a Facebook group created for two class sections.Students received e mail containing this URL https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/138477459629230/ to the class Facebook Group and asked to join.Students were offered 10 bonus grade points for what was called a social media participation; which included participation in the Facebook group participation and survey participation.Students used the Facebook Group through the fall 2012 semester as a learning management system.
Con
trol G
rou
p
Participants who will not treated with the social media educational tool were undergraduate students from two universities in North Texas.
Findings“What age were you at the time when
you first created an online social media account?”
Do you worry about your professional self-image on your social media
account?
FindingsDo you try to be professional when
you use social media?
What type of social media postings do you think can positively impact your future career? (Created using
www.wordle.com)
FindingsWhat types of inappropriate postings
do you think may cost you future jobs?
Do you think that being part of a class Facebook Group has made you a
more professional social media citizen?
FindingsDid you feel like when you first started using social media you knew the professional long term effects of posting something
inappropriate?
ConclusionThe students in the LTEC 1100 class were the youngest overall participants and of the three groups examined as well as the youngest at the time their social media was created. They had the least amount of worry about their future careers being effected by inappropriate social media use, as well as feeling that at the time when their social media was created they knew the long term effects of inappropriate social media postings. Their ages may have played a role in their relaxed outlook of the foreseeable cost to their future careers due to unprofessional social media use. The researcher recommends creating a clear set of “how to” for students to learn what the ramifications of inappropriate social media use can potentially levy on their future careers, allowing students a higher chance employability with receiving adequate social media training at an early age.
