Amanda Blas (The Beacon)
By Amanda Blas, Staff Commentary
"Actions speak louder than words" is how the old cliché goes. But in this world of social media, words may lead to actions you would never expect.
There is no doubt that we are the generation of social media. All of us are guilty of being on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr-just to name a few of our social media favorites-at some point of the day.
In fact, according to a study by Johnson and Wales University, the average college student spends six to eight hours a day on social media. Compared to the 3.3 hours that the American Time Use Survey found college students spend studying each day, I would say social media is definitely our generation's guilty pleasure.
While we have come to terms with being Generation Y, there are still some things many of us fail to consider when it comes to social media.
Yes, we have been warned about the dangers of having our online profiles public. Don't post up pictures of you with that red solo cup if you're underage, and don't you dare put up any photos of you taking part in illegal or incriminating activities. We get it: things like that can get you into trouble and potentially cost you your job or job opportunities.
But what about the words that comes with social media use? How careful are we when it comes to those Facebook status updates and comments and late night tweets?
While most of us don't give much thought to answering Facebook's question of "What's on your mind," the answers we give through status updates may get us into more trouble than we'd ever expect.
Ask University of Minnesota student Amanda Tatro, who was failed from a class for posting what classmates perceived to be as threatening and offensive statuses on Facebook. Tatro's Facebook statuses may have been just words-as she had argued in court-but those words had led to her having to retake the class, take an additional class on ethics and undergo a psychological evaluation. Talk about taking those words on Facebook seriously.
Now many of us will never have to face such consequences for our use of words on social media, but it's important that we be more careful of what words we do use.
According to an article recently published by CNN, social media will soon be responsible for employers saying goodbye to the good old resume we've come to know as part of job applications.
Think about it: if pictures can get you into trouble, can you imagine what your words-which are essentially your thoughts-can get you into? Sounds like those words have potential to speak loud and clear.
But let's not be all negative. The power behind the words of social media has the ability to cause some commotion on issues that may not have gotten attention otherwise. Think about Obama's hashtag "#dontdoublemyrate," which gave people a way to speak out to Congress about increasing student loan interest rates.
Bottom line: in this age of social media, words are definitely capable of speaking louder than any action could. We just need to remember when and how to use these words.
Amanda Blas is a senior sociology major. She can be reached at blas13@up.edu
