Despite its name, social media is often used for more than enriching students' social lives.
Some administrators at The University of Memphis screen what students post on their Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other sites, and that content may prevent students from getting certain positions and scholarships.
Justin Lawhead, associate dean for student leadership and involvement and one of the decision-makers for the Emerging Leader Scholarship recipients, said he uses social media to find out more about Emerging Leader applicants.
"We can get another idea about what is important to students if we have access to their social networking sites," Lawhead said. "These give us more depth into what's on the students' applications and resumés."
Though Lawhead said he has never kicked anyone out of the Emerging Leader Program or withheld scholarships based solely on what a student has posted online, he has spoken with students about representing themselves "appropriately" on social media sites.
"I've seen poor choices relating to alcohol consumption and statuses that reflect a lack of understanding about issues (on) campus," Lawhead said. "My expectation for students that are involved with leadership programs is that they do their homework, so if they're going to make commentary that a thousand students may see, they should be informed."
But it's not just University faculty watching students' online profiles.
It's not uncommon for an employer to look beyond the resumé during the hiring process. According to a 2009 CareerBuilder survey, 45 percent of employers reported using social networking sites to screen potential hires.
Alisha Henderson, director of career services at The U of M, urged students to be serious when it comes to managing their social media content.
"It can make the decision of whether or not a student receives an internship, a full-time job or even an interview with a company," Henderson said. "It can really affect a student's future."
Henderson said that students should be particularly cautious of posting distasteful pictures and negative language.
"Some companies do go and look at social networking sites to see what kind of person (the applicant) is." Henderson said. "So students should keep their sites as professional as possible."
Carrie Brown, assistant professor of journalism at The U of M, teaches two classes on social media and said she considers herself a heavy user of social networking sites. Brown advises students to look closely for grammar and spelling mistakes before posting something online.
"Obviously, if a future employer were to look at something and it had a ton of grammatical errors, they wouldn't hire that person for a writing job," Brown said. "So you want to put your best foot forward at all times."
However, Brown said, students shouldn't be completely paranoid about everything they post online.
"Showing a little personality is fine," she said. "Every tweet doesn't have to be about homework or your profession. It's OK to be a human."
Brown said social media has many advantages, and how students use it will affect what they get out of it.
"I've had students more than once get a job because of their social media presence," Brown said.
Lawhead said that social networking sites provide students more ways to market themselves.
"Talk about on your status the things that you're doing," Lawhead said. "Yes, it's a way for you to have friendships and have a social circle, but it really becomes a tool for you to get your candidacy maybe at a higher level of the pile than it might be otherwise."
