A look at the impacts and benefits of social media

1. IS SOCIAL MEDIA
AS POWERFUL AS
WE THINK?
R A C H A E L N A G E L B E R G

2. SOCIAL MEDIA GIVES PEOPLE A
SENSE OF CONFIDENCE
“Yesterday, we got written up in TechCrunch and LA Magazine, and we all had dinner at Nobu to
celebrate!”
Steven, a consulting partner, tweets about 40 times per day and has his own Facebook page with
50 fans.“I do it primarily because it makes me feel good.”
What are the outcomes of our need to be recognized publicly?

3. OUR ONLINE
PERSONALITY
• A study of 37,000 college students discovered
that personality traits associated with self-
importance have risen since the 1980’s as quickly
as obesity
• One could question whether this rise has
anything to do with social media, but one study
concluded that there is a strong correlation
between a narcissistic personality inventory and
the use of Facebook

4. WHY ARE WE ON SOCIAL MEDIA SO
OFTEN?
Dr. Rosen says there is a 3:1 ratio of anxiety reduction to pleasure in terms of
what drives us to our screens
He argues that at this point, the obsession with technology has not reached
that of a psychiatric disorder but with time it is possible that this could occur
The constant checking of our social media is similar to an obsession or a
compulsion
Think to yourself, how often do you check your phone to find something to
feel good about, versus feeling a need to check in order to avoid missing
something

5. HARDWIRED FOR FACEBOOK
Our brains are actually built in a way that makes us naturally addicted to websites like Facebook
Social skills and the ability to engage others on a large scale are incredibly important
This allows us in to be successful in modern North America
In fact, a study found that teenagers who use social media frequently tend to have better social
skills and experience less loneliness than teens who avoid an online presence

6. HOW SOCIAL
MEDIA CAN
HELP US

7. IS IT REALLY WORTH ALL THAT TIME
SPENT ONLINE?
LinkedIn Usage
Recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiters not using LinkedIn
With more jobs requiring employees to know
how to code, knowledge of technology is of high
importance to many employers
Absence from social media may reflect in the
person being ‘behind the times’
It turns out that having a professional online presence can increase chances of finding a career
“LinkedIn is the No. 1 source of recruiting,” according to Patricia Polischuk

8. HOW ARE RECRUITERS CHECKING UP
ON APPLICANTS
Recruiter'sTwitter Usage
Recruiters using Twitter Recruiters not using Twitter
Recruiter's Facebook Usage
Recruiters using Facebook Recruiters not using Facebook

9. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
More than a third of employers are actively using social media as a vital
part of their hiring process.
2 in 5 companies use these platforms to evaluate a candidates
character.
Most employers are looking to see if a candidate is a professional
while half say they are looking to see if the person will mesh well with
the culture of their company.
Surprisingly less than half of job seekers are actively on social media.
Most people occasionally go online, and only 11% do not use social
media at all.

10. USING THE
INTERNET TO
CAMPAIGN

11. IS AN INTERNET CAMPAIGN ENOUGH?
There have been many times people have launched online campaigns using hashtags and online
petitions in effort to make a difference
It is a valid question whether these campaigns have any pull
The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls was created after 270 girls were abducted in Nigeria
Even with support from the first lady, after a year none of the girls have returned home
As much of an impact as social media can have on our career prospects, the internet does not
appear to be enough to make large changes

12. IS AN INTERNET CAMPAIGN ENOUGH?
Some campaigns have proven to be incredibly effective
Kony 2012 was a campaign led by Invisible Children
A documentary quickly went viral and led to huge amounts of support from the public, and
further encouraged media coverage for the campaign

13. THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
CAREERS
There are many times the use of social media can damage one’s ability to be
employed
Small mistakes made online may cause huge issues if certain people discover
them
Justine Sacco discovered this after posting a tweet:
“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

14. THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
CAREERS
It quickly became the top trending tweet and within hours Sacco was
receiving hate messages, and had lost her job
This shows how powerful social media can be, and how important it is to
closely monitor what you post

15. THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
SCHOOL
As it turns out, our social media profiles can also hinder our ability to
get into college
Admissions officials will usually only check out personal profiles if they
have been alerted of previous negative posts by the applicants

16. THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
SCHOOL
Though they may not look at everyone's profile, it may be worth it to
revamp your profile before applying to university

17. HOW TO USE THE
INTERNET TO
YOUR ADVANTAGE

18. SELF BRANDING
It is an art to know how to brand oneself
Self branding is what allows a person to move from being unrecognizable to being a distinguished
individual
The skills required to market yourself appropriately are highly valuable. It will allow a person to
separate themselves from the crowd and let employers know what makes them unique and
valuable.

19. LITTLE CHANGES TO IMPROVE YOUR
ONLINE PRESENCE
 One simple change to your online presence can really make a difference when an employer
decides to search for you
 Forbes suggests googling yourself first in order to see what a potential employer would be
looking at
 If you have a name that is common, it could be a good idea to start using your middle name in
order to differentiate yourself and improves self branding
 Forbes also suggest creating a personal website so that you can be found quickly and easily and
put on display exactly what you want

20. SO, IS SOCIAL MEDIA AS
POWERFUL AS WE
THINK?
It turns out that it is.
 Social media can dramatically improve our ability to get a job.
 It can enhance our chances to get accepted to your dream college.
 If done properly, it has the ability to start powerful campaigns.
 It is even powerful enough to change our habits, and can even make
us obsessive.

21. REFERENCES1."1,995 Free Images - Photos, Illustrations,Vector Graphics: Phone." Pixabay. Pixabay, n.d.Web. 01 June 2016.
2.Bowness, Suzanne. "Five Ways to Be a Smart Social Media User inYour Job Hunt." The Globe and Mail.The Globe and Mail, 10 Jan. 2013.Web. 01
June 2016.
3.Bresciani, Sabrina, and Andreas Schmeil. "Social Media Platforms for Social Good." 2012 6th IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems
andTechnologies (DEST) (2012): 1-6. IEEE Xplore.Web. 01 June 2016.
4.Chamorro-Premuzic,Tomas. "The Future ofYou." Harvard Business Review. Harvard, 01 Jan. 2013.Web. 01 June 2016.
5.Gulati, Daniel. "Our Dangerous Obsession with External Recognition." Harvard Business Review. Harvard, 10 Dec. 2013.Web. 01 June 2016.
6.Hyder, Shama."7 ThingsYou Can Do To Build An Awesome Personal Brand." Forbes. Forbes Magazine,18 Aug. 2014.Web. 01 June 2016.
7.Kielburger, Marc, and Craig Kielburger. "A Click Is Not Enough to Have Impact onWorld." Canoe.com. Canoe News, 10 Apr. 2015.Web. 01 June
2016.
8.Popescu,Adam. "Coding Is the Must-Have Job Skill of the Future." Mashable. Mashable,30 Apr. 2013.Web. 01 June 2016.
9.Ronson, Jon. "How One StupidTweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life." The NewYork Times.The NewYork Times, 14 Feb. 2015.Web. 01 June 2016.
10.Rosen, Larry, Ph.D. "Our Social Media Obsession." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 17 July 2014.Web. 01 June 2016.
11.Singer, Natasha."In College Admissions, Social Media Can Be a Double-Edged Sword." Bits Blog.The NewYork Times Company, 11 Nov. 2013.Web.
01 June 2016.
12.Smith, Jacquelyn. "How Social Media Can Help (Or Hurt)You InYour Job Search." Forbes.Forbes Magazine, 16 Apr. 2013.Web. 01 June 2016.
13.Tufft, Ben. "Social Media-obsessedTeenagers Are so Frightened of Real Life Some Won't Even Answer the Door." Daily Mail Online.Associated
Newspapers, 20 Mar. 2016.Web. 01 June 2016.
ALL images are from reference 1.