Blog: Young and Restless

Starting this week, The Daily Post reporter Kristy Martin will be giving her opinion on topical issues in the news and around town. 


Is it me or is Facebook starting to become more of a pain than it's worth?
It started out innocent enough, in the beginning it was just a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family and to connect with old flames.
Now, all of a sudden you have to watch what you say, who you talk to and set all these intense privacy settings _ or your funny but inappropriate comments and photos could come back to bite you.
I'm not even talking about crazy stalkers either, I'm talking about potential employers.
Being a journalist I've been taught that if it's accessible on the internet, it's free for the world to see _ and to use against you. Annoying but true.
A few years ago the only way a potential employer could dig dirt on you was to call your previous boss. Now all they have to do is sign onto their Facebook and type your name in.
If you haven't got your privacy settings on lock down then everything from last weekend's boozey bender to all your personal rants (including the occasional F bomb) is practically out in the open.
Now that I'm working on building a career and trying to make contacts and a good impression, I'm becoming increasingly aware of what I'm posting online.
But it's also alerting me to the fact that it's extremely annoying to not be able to post anything I like online.
Sometimes you just need to have a rant about work after a long day and moan about the egg who overtook you on the main road then didn't even drive any faster.
And, scoff as you wish, but photos of you laughing hysterically at how drunk you are, are funny!
I've been reading quite a few articles lately telling me I need to delete those particular photos and keep my Facebook comments PG13.
While I see why I should, I just can't bring myself to delete my slightly questionable 21st photos or to give up moaning about whatever I darn well like.
According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary one meaning of private is "not connected with one's work or official position''.
Why then, is it all of a sudden okay for an employer to spy on someone they're thinking about hiring?
Obviously if you're checking up on them it means they have the skills, qualifications and means to do the job.
Taking that into consideration, does one drunk photo or peed off rant mean the difference between getting the job or not?
This is where an invisible line has been drawn and with all the "to and fro'' arguments I've been reading lately, it seems there isn't a clear answer.
Most people would agree they may act a little differently at work than at home and so anything you do outside of work should not count against you in the workplace.
If you're good at your job and your references check out then leave Facebook out of it I say.
While it's good to be yourself at work, most would also agree they hold back their full blast personality somewhat _ I think it's called being professional.