The a couple weeks ago there was a newsworthy item coming out of an academic institution, but it certainly wasn't good news. I won't go into detail, but hockey helmets and sticks were everywhere while punches were flying among both players and coaches. With our mouths gaping open in the stands, all we could do is say, "Is this really happening?!" And about as long as it took us to question what we were seeing out loud, the event was posted on social media for the world to see.
Yes, my students and colleagues, everyone has a recording device and there is no escaping them.
It's difficult to keep one's professional online presence free and clear from every possible smudge that we could possibly encounter, but why fuel the fire and do something so outrageous in real life that can then be attributed to you online indefinitely? It is nearly impossible to remove your name from a viral online event.
The students from the incident I am referencing may pay consequences for years to come. A good many of these students will not play their sport professionally and may face challenges when finding that coveted first job after graduating. When they are in their final year of college and finish constructing their resume and present it to a future employer, that employer can turn around and say, "You were on X team in 2014? Were you a part of the xyz event?!" Better yet, they might not ask but may simply plug your name into a search engine and find out you were suspended for fighting. That future employer is going to have to ask themselves, "Is this a person I want on my staff? Are they violent? Will they lose their temper and cause problems within the work environment?"
Is a mistake on the playing field going to cost you for your entire life? Probably not. However, it's an example of what can happen when anyone behaves poorly in the presence of others. To keep your professional online presence clean, don't say or do anything in public you wouldn't want attributed to you indefinitely online. You never know who might be watching, much less recording.
