Overview

As a middle school student, it will be several years before you apply for college admission. However, you could begin applying for scholarships or for programs, now. The application process for these programs can be as competitive, if not more competitive than when you apply to college. You could miss out on these opportunities as a result of a negative social media image.

Many students mistakenly believe that social media, which includes Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram®, Snapchat®, and YouTube®, and the text messages and images posted of you on the Internet is private. This is not at all true! Once a digital recording is made in a computer or posted onto the Internet, it can never be recaptured or permanently deleted. Passwords can be hacked, texts and images sent to a friend can be resent to thousands of other people, and eventually the whole world can know all about you. Not to mention, some texts and images can be illegal and students have been expelled from school and convicted of a crime as a result of sharing inappropriate language and images via social media. There are reports of students who have had their college admission offers rescinded due to inappropriate social media postings or news articles.

Years from now, you will want to become a competitive college and scholarship applicant. At that time you will need to communicate with colleges, recruiters, and scholarship providers. Your written and verbal communication will provide multiple opportunities to communicate information and build relationships with college admissions officers, coaches, professors, and scholarship providers. Through this activity you will engage in a critical self-assessment of your social media image—an image that could enhance your college and scholarship opportunities or sabotage them.

Objective

Review your social media image and develop an email signature to showcase your gifts, talents, leadership, and achievements.

Estimated time to complete: 30 min.

Guiding Questions

  • What type of image am I portraying through my current e-mail address or through social media (e.g., Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram®, Snapchat®)?
  • What type of email signature would best showcase my gifts, talents, leadership, and achievements?