Alfred Edmond Jr.’s article, “Why Asking for a Job Applicant's Facebook Password Is Fair Game” argues that although job applicants can refuse to give up their social media passwords with concerns of privacy reasons, company owners and employers still have the right to ask for them. An employer has the right to investigate a possible future employees social media on their own but asking for someone’s password is not only an invasion of privacy, it is also a waste of time. Although Edmond’s article did contain various valid points, he lacked the sufficient amount of rhetorical devices to persuade the reader into thinking this is fair game. The author provides one exceptional example alone as to why this would be okay. However, this method of …show more content…
The author defends his claim by implying that although one can simply deny access to their own Facebook page, an employer still has the right to ask for it because they are the ones who have the company’s best interest at heart. Employers want their business to not only run smoothly, but also that their employees and customers feel and stay safe. Ironically, he contradicts himself when he states, “I would have to want the job pretty badly… I would see if there were other ways… I would try to negotiate terms to strictly limit both their use… and length of time”(Edmond 132). In that paragraph he starts with putting himself in the employer's shoes but switches his view to now thinking like the future employee. Just as the author stated, anyone can simply go onto their page before giving their password up and change or delete whatever they don’t want their possibly future boss to see. They can even simply deny to having any social media and delete the apps from their mobile device. What would employers do in that situation? Deny the applicant a job because they fail to obtain any sorts of social media? Or would they go even further and ask to go through the applicant’s phone? Let’s say the employer doesn’t trust the applicant’s word and goes and searches him up anyways, the applicant can simply deactivate his account until the hiring process is over so there would be no way for the employer to find the account and snoop on it. Edmond also fails to mention how a future employer might not be trustworthy themselves. Let’s say the applicant has nothing to hide and gives up their password with no hesitation but, he does have conversations with his family discussing family issues that would never conflict with the job he is trying to obtain. The employer
This specific article addresses the implications of “online social networking and how they transcend disciplinary actions and reputational harm” (442). Fleming begins her argument by paralleling the transformative properties of the invention of the telephone years ago to social networks today (440). Students’ online identities come at a price, allowing job recruiters, school administrators, ...
Rosen makes the argument that people surrender all privacy through “self-revelation” (Rosen), they destroy their privacy to fit in with society and to join the naked crowd. Rosen defines social media as a place where people surrender privacy to “achieve trust through self-exposure” (Rosen). In his eyes, people are simply giving away privacy to become transparent within society. I believe that people are actually exchanging one type of power for another. Foucault’s complex analysis of power can be simplified into “Power is everywhere” (Foucault). People exchange the power of privacy for the power of connection. The author of the journal article agrees with the exchange of power, “Trust is indeed achieved within Facebook in the way Rosen argues; however, this trust is the product of an exchange of power.” (Brittany). Social media allows us to connect instantly with people all over the world. As with any situation, humans assess the risk factors and the benefits of any decision they have to make, they will...
Alfred Edmond Jr. wrote the article, Why Asking for a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password is Fair Game. In the article he assessed and argued that you should provide your potential employer with your Facebook password because nothing is ever really private. Edmond effectively persuades the reader to agree with him by uniting his audience and establishing his credibility, providing scenarios that toy with the reader’s emotions, and by making logical appeals. In addition to making these appeals he successfully incorporates an informal tone that further sways the reader to grasp the essence of his argument. These are the elements that make Edmond’s argument valid and persuasive. He is able to convince us that providing a possible employer with something that is private such as our password will ultimately be beneficial for everyone in the situation.
“The standards of what we want to keep private and what we make public are constantly evolving. Over the course of Western history, we’ve developed a desire for more privacy, quite possibly as a status symbol…”(Singer) Technological change leads to new abuses, creating new challenges to security, but society adapts to those challenges. To meet the innate need for privacy, we learn what to reveal and where, and how to keep secret what we don't want to disclose. “Whether Facebook and similar sites are reflecting a change in social norms about privacy or are actually driving that change, that half a billion people are now on Facebook suggests that people believe the benefits of connecting with others, sharing information, networking, self-promoting, flirting, and bragging outweigh breaches of privacy that accompany such behaviours,”(Singer) This is obvious by the continuous and unceasing use of social media platforms, but what needs to be considered is that this information is being provided willingly. “More difficult questions arise when the loss of privacy is not in any sense a choice.”(Singer) When the choice to be anonymous it taken away through social media, the person loses the ability to keep their personal information
Social networking sites promote the sharing of personal information in the public format. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter promote the oversharing of details of personal lives. Posts on these platforms may vary in regards to what one may be watching, or having for breakfast, or it may include pictures of one’s latest vacation or nights out with friends at a local bar. (10) Since personal information can be shared very frequently and with ease, consumers are more likely to disregard the restraint they normally would use when sharing information in regards to personal matter. (10, 11)
Most individuals use these social networks and applications as an outlet to connect with old friends and family, share media, and keep up with everyday topics. Sometimes, employees exchange social media accounts if they become friends at work, which is acceptable. But, if an employer decides to review an employee or potential employee’s personal account without their permission, that is an invasion of privacy. Also, a person’s social media account should not have to be monitored or reviewed by an employer, especially if it does not relate to the job itself. Everyone deserves privacy, and if an employee’s social media account(s) have to be monitored, the same should apply to the employers as
Social media is a new phenomenon for most companies; it has also greatly affected the workplace. The influxes of technology combine with the availability of mobile devices have changed private moments and thoughts shared in the workplace. “Employees' workplace privacy is being invaded by increased use of social media, according to a survey published today by security software firm AVG technologies” Newcombe, T...
uses logos strongly by providing not only his viewpoint from a business perspective, but also a conceding viewpoint that works in his favor. Edmond references work that involves children, and claims that “the hiring process” of such employees is the most ethically sound time to discover if the prospective hires engage in “inappropriate social media communication with minors” (Edmond Jr. 133). Typically, in the hiring process, a background check is done on the prospective employee. However, a background check won’t necessarily reveal if they commit undesirable behaviors in their private lives. Therefore, Edmond strengthens his logos immensely by referencing a particular scenario where his claim works. Edmond also addresses individuals who believe that having access to an employee’s Facebook is a “horrible invasion of privacy” by stating that sharing personal information on Facebook is similar to “shouting your private business” in public (Edmond Jr. 134). In his comparison, Edmond reveals to his audience that sharing on Facebook can have harsh side-effects, as would shouting in the street. Since Edmond is able to reference a contingent argument and still get his point across, his logos receives another boost. Logos acts as an essential part in Edmond’s essay, and works efficiently to prove his
As older siblings, friends, and cousins were denied position at school and in the work force, we realized that adults and employers had found Facebook. Our uncensored character was on display for future bosses, colleges, etc. and they were there to stay. Instead of references being the test of character for a job, it was the online identity that determined whether or not the application got even a second glance. In light of this revelation, we changed. Our Facebooks no longer reflected our true selves, but rather the person that we thought colleges and employers should see. Much like hiding our dirty laundry from prying eyes in the halls of high school, we could no longer wear our proverbial hearts on our internet sleeves, for the future was at stake. Much like what had once been the Old West, the internet was now connected with railroads—each leading back to the offline person. Tame and orderly.
The situation revolving around these sites is not likely to clear up any time soon; in fact, as freshmen enter higher education institutions, more activity regarding social networking will take place. Christine Rosen, “a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington” (2), said that the amount of freedom and control that technology gives us also provides a direct route for marketers to advertise products to these users. In addition, she says that college administrators use Facebook as a means of snooping around to find evidence of illegal activity of students. Many of these administrators and employers also create fake profiles in order to conduct these investigations, although, as spokesman for Facebook Chris Hughes says, creating...
Perhaps the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said it best when he claimed that privacy is no longer a “social norm.” Virtually everyone has a smart phone and everyone has social media. We continue to disclose private information willingly and the private information we’re not disclosing willingly is being extracted from our accounts anyway. Technology certainly makes these things possible. However, there is an urgent need to make laws and regulations to protect against the stuff we’re not personally disclosing. It’s unsettling to think we are living in 1984 in the 21st century.
This is yet another way of invading privacy. In the past, employers would only know what you told them in your interview. They would assess your skills and determine if you were right for the job, aside from knowing your beliefs or views. However, now with Facebook an employer can see all the personal information, this can negatively influence a candidate’s job. The same goes for those who are currently employed and potential students. “Dr. Nora Barnes, Director for the Center of Marketing Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, published a study that showed more than 20% of colleges and universities search social networks for their admissions candidates” (Fodeman). This is becoming a part of the admissions process, but it is unfair. Searching someone’s Facebook to determine his or her admissions eligibility is wrong and a privacy invasion. As long as a student has fulfilled the school’s requirements and done well in school, why should it matter what their personal lives are like? In the time before Facebook, this would be like a school sending someone to secretly follow a potential student and see what he or she does in their
As college students and adults prepare for the real world, people are constantly faced with how to prepare for interviews and the hiring process with jobs. One factor of that is the gray area that is the idea of social media and networking helping to assist with the hiring process. Technology has become a privacy and employment issue that future employees face. When it comes to employment companies a have no boundaries and employers need to realize that social media should be used only for non-bias practices and not employment decisions based on someone’s Facebook post. Topic: How Privacy and Employment Laws effect Social Media changing the Hiring Process.
The growing popularity of information technologies has significantly altered our world, and in particular, the way people interact. Social networking websites are becoming one of the primary forms of communication used by people of all ages and backgrounds. No doubt, we have seen numerous benefits from the impact of social media communication: We can easily meet and stay in touch with people, promote ourselves, and readily find information. However, these changes prompt us to consider how our moral and political values can be threatened. One common fear among users is that their privacy will be violated on the web. In her book, Privacy in Context, Helen Nissenbaum suggests a framework for understanding privacy concerns online. She focuses particularly on monitoring and tracking, and how four “pivotal transformations” caused by technology can endanger the privacy of our personal information. One website that may pose such a threat is Facebook.
Social network profiles are the most essential tool to judge job applicants because it reflects a good image of the job applicants. For example, if the company is recruiting a writer, it would be better to choose a person who has a blog web page in a blogging website such as Word-Press that shows and reflects his/her ability in writing. In addition to that, a Human Resources manager can check this person’s Facebook and Twitter in order to see his/her grammar and writing skills. This information provides accurate and complete picture about the candidate. (Fish & Lee, n.d). Moreover, social network profiles can prove the application as it shows applicant’s participation in many fields. For instance, when a recruiter enters person’s blog that includes art and design work, it will show his/her passion to work as a designer in the company. Therefore, it is important to judge applicants based on their social media profiles because it shows a good image of the person.