There are numerous social media sites with varying degrees of privacy options and uses, but I think we can all agree that the first and main purpose of social media, is for students' social interaction not professional interaction (Teclehaimanot, B., & Hickman, T., 2011, p. 20). If one wanted to use a social media site geared specifically towards professional interaction, one would likely choose LinkedIn which was specifically designed as a professional networking site. Perhaps the first order of business would be to clarify and come to an international consensus on the purposes of each social media site. The second order of business might be to ensure the laws of digital citizenry are being learned and applied to all social media sites and mediums. If every digital citizen upheld their legal obligations, then there should be no reason for employers to feel it necessary to terminate their employees because they have not committed a crime. Is this a fair statement? Are their other factors that should be considered?
It is possible that firing someone based on their social networking profile could be infringing on their human rights. I would like to use the example of our Canadian right to the freedom of speech, "Section 2(b) of the Charter states that "Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: ...freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication" (Magnet, J., 2002). Canadian law may not be agreed upon by all citizens but freedom of speech is in fact the law and allowing digital citizens to express themselves, whether through photographic images or written comments is the law of freedom of thought, belief and opinions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Beliefs (Government of Canada, online web document, 2012, p. 2).
What is the message employers are sending that terminating an employee based on the expressions (which includes visual images) used on social media profiles sends to the general public? Well, what do you think?
References:
Government of Canada (2012) The Canadian Charter of Rights and Beliefs. Information Archived on the Web. Retrieved from: http://publications.gc.ca/site/archivee-archived.html?url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH37-4-3-2002E.pdf
Harte, H. (2011). E-professionalism for early care and education providers. Dimensions Of Early Childhood, 39(3), 3-10.
Magnet, J. (2002). Constitutional-law.net. Retrieved from: http://www.constitutional-law.net/expression.html).
Schachter, R. (2011). The Social Media Dilemma. District Administration, 47(7), 27-33.
Teclehaimanot, B., & Hickman, T. (2011). Student-teacher interaction on facebook: what students find appropriate. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 55(3), 19-30.
Thomas, Gordon. (2009, May 5). Teachers and Facebook, ATA News, 43(17). Retrieved from http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Publications/ATA%20News/Volume%2043/Number17/Pages/QA.aspx
In the case of Ashley Payne (CBS, 2011), I disagree with her termination based on photos such as holding a Guinness in Ireland. She did not appear intoxicated. She was upholding her legal obligations, yet she was terminated on the spot, with no recourse. “Posting careless comments and questionable images online can magnify less-than-professional behavior.” (Harte, 2011, p. 5) Would the general public judge these summer holiday photos as unprofessional behaviour?
ReplyDeleteYou ask what message this sends to the general public. It says, “Beware! Your employer has the authority to be the judge of what constitutes ‘questionable images’ and ‘appropriate role-modelling’. Mistakes will not be tolerated.” Were Ms. Payne’s school division policies up to date and clearly communicated? One solution lies in your second suggestion of learning and practicing the guidelines to citizenry. There is an obvious need for these conversations to be ongoing and happening at all levels –from teachers and parents, to incorporating digital citizenship into every student assignment using digital tools.
Although I personally subscribe to your suggestion of clarifying the purpose of each social media site, it may not be practical for a few reasons. Social media sites themselves will not want to restrict themselves in any way. From a business point of view, that could potentially harm their bottom line. Striving for a balance between the benefits and disadvantages of social media (Harte, 2011) requires all stakeholders to be proactive. “Administrators and teachers are beginning to leverage the interactive and multimedia features of social networks that have the added advantage of being widely and easily accessible—and free. “(Schachter, 2011, p. 27) “These emerging technologies have the potential to significantly impact education.” (Teclehaimanot & Hickman, 2011, p. 19) Tapping into the potential of free tools is undeniably irresistible.
References
CBS. February 6, 2011. The Internet and Our Right to Privacy. [Video file] Retrieved February 6, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K8f-r_BK1M
Harte, H. (2011). E-professionalism for early care and education providers. Dimensions Of Early Childhood, 39(3), 3-10.
Schachter, R. (2011). The Social Media Dilemma. District Administration, 47(7), 27-33.
Teclehaimanot, B., & Hickman, T. (2011). Student-teacher interaction on facebook: what students find appropriate. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 55(3), 19-30.
You ask “ Is it fair for employers to terminate their employees based on comments and images posted on their employees' Facebook profiles?” As you note, Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of rights would not support this practice yet the Alberta Court ruling that “online posting that reflects negatively on one’s employer can be grounds for discipline or termination.” (Thomas, 2009) seems to indicate this right is negotiable. I believe that this situation can only find its’ solution at the grassroots level. Employees, employers and citizens outside the organization all need to uphold the basic ideals of digital citizenship and honor our collective right to privacy and freedom of speech. Corporations that feel a need to clarify exactly what their expectations are in this area should ensure their employees are well aware of their specific policies across every online platform prior to accepting employment.
ReplyDeleteI found your proposition to clarify and come to a consensus on the purpose of each social media site to be interesting but have to agree with Debbie that I don’t think that would be feasible from a business standpoint. Also, as in some other areas (I am thinking of medicine in particular) sometimes other beneficial uses are found that may not fit the original parameters.
Finally, I just wanted to mention that your statement “we can all agree that the first and main purpose of social media, is for students' social interaction not professional interaction (Teclehaimanot & Hickman, 2011, p. 20)” may have been initially true for Facebook in particular but it is not true of all social media. Twitter, for example, was specifically designed for the professional world when it was launched.
References:
Government of Canada (2012) The Canadian Charter of Rights and Beliefs. Information Archived on the Web. Retrieved from: http://publications.gc.ca/site/archivee-archived.html?url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH37-4-3-2002E.pdf
Teclehaimanot, B., & Hickman, T. (2011). Student-teacher interaction on facebook: what students find appropriate. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 55(3), 19-30. Retrieved from:
http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=59742738&site=ehost-live
Thomas, Gordon. (2009, May 5). Teachers and facebook, ATA News, 43(17). Retrieved from http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Publications/ATA News/Volume 43/Number17/Pages/QA.aspx
Thank you for your comments and perspectives. You are right Trudi, I should have been more specific and referred only to Facebook when making that comment on what I think about the original purpose of social media sites.
ReplyDeleteThe thought that any employer has the right and authority to terminate a staff member based on their social media profile is a bit frightening to me. Though I've always thought I maintained a level of moral and ethical standard of what I post on my profile, I feel I can't trust my previous instincts of what was acceptable based on my previous assumptions. I do feel a bit disappointed by this though. Many of my images posted are sentimental, my photos are a life story of travels abroad, meeting wonderful friends and sharing adventures. Often times we were on a tropical or sub-tropical beach and I am wearing a bathing suit. It is certainly not a picture I would like posted on the front page of the newspaper, but it was appropriate attire in the context of a beach. Am I being naive to think that these were appropriate photos to post from an e-professional view?
Thanks again Ladies. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Skye