THINKING ETHICALLY

HOW SOLID IS YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT?

Survey results suggest that today people consider it appropriate to make connections on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. Younger employees are likelier than older ones to feel comfortable with counting co-workers among their friends.

Blurring the lines between professional and personal communications has become especially perilous in today's political climate, where politically oriented comments often have a tone that is angry or mistrustful of those with different views. Some employees have been fired for critical posts that employers believe cross a line into offensiveness. The response is especially likely when the employee has a prominent

position in the organization or includes the employer's name in his or her profile. Some employers try to prevent trouble by establishing a social-media policy that may express legally supported boundaries, such as not using the organization's hardware, time, or accounts to make posts on personal social-media accounts.

Personal social-media posts are more a matter of values than the law. Some widely shared standards include try to be honest, avoid slurs and insults, and listen if an inner voice is making you feel uncomfortable about a message or photo you're about to post. Some social-media users

set strict standards for themselves-for example, taking care to comment respectfully and to present a professional image.

Questions

1. Which of the following would you include in your social-media networks? Current co-workers? Past co-workers? Current supervisor?

Competitors?

2. What standards do you apply to your own social-media conduct? Which of these, if any, would you consider ethical standards?