My Myspace

I would first like to start this blog with the explanation that I have not in the past subscribed to my space or Facebook. In my professional life I have heard horror stories about people who lost their job or lost the opportunity to be considered for a job due to the employer reading their myspace page. My son's dentist once told me that when hiring the first thing they do in researching applicants is to go on my space. He explained to me that in working with children it was very important to hire people without an out of control personal life. I thought that was very interesting that the information that they had disclosed online was the very thing that limited their employment opportunities. It was then that I decided that I would not subscribe to the popular online meeting spots. The reality to me that my friends and family members can contact me via email or phone. The one benefit I do see of these online sites is to find long lost friends or to make new ones. To me the risk did not outweigh the benefits.

So for this assignment I was reluctant to disclose much personal information. I decided that there was some information that was central to my lifestyle that was easy to disclose. For instance my hometown, where I live, school status, work life and family life. This was information that I would disclose to anyone. This part of my "social identity" was important to me as I am proud of the benchmarks I have made in college and in my career. In creating the myspace page I decided to create more of a marketing page for future careers. I wrote about what I was studying in college and what outcome that I hoped my education would bring. I also posted careers that I would like to apply for after my schooling.

As for the more personal information such as music, hobbies, mottos etc. I left this area very general. I spent more time on the hobbies section than the music. To me the music one listens to reveals a window to their soul. In looking at others my spaces they talk in depth about the music they listen to. This leaves the reader open to interpret things about the poster. If someone posts that they like heavy metal than we have certain ideals about this person. Others who post they like opera music than we have a very different idea about who this person is. Therefore I chose to not describe my favorite musicians. As for hobbies that was a similar issue, my family is into hunting. How much of that was appropriate to talk about? Well in real life if someone asks me about hunting I am hesitant to talk about it so why should my myspace page be any different. I do not think these are negative parts of my life. I do however think that readers of this information create a judgemental picture of who I am.

This is the main issue that I have with myspace. If I disclose personal information I am open to judgement. My true friends and family already know these parts of my personality. So who exactly is benefited by personal knowledge about myself. In doing this assignment I realized that myspace is meeting place for people that you do not know. Therefore I created my profile with that in mind.

Emily