Column: Obama Application Brings Up Questions For Our Generation
This story was written by Hunter Pavela, The Diamondback
The perils of the Internet age are many, and they have never been more on display than in President-elect Barack Obama's (D) application process for a position in his new administration. Applicants are required to fill out a seven-page, 63-question application that covers everything from personal diaries to Facebook entries. One question asks applicants to list all the aliases they use to communicate online. Whoever chose the "drunkskillz14" AIM screen name might be left second-guessing that decision. Many of the questions ask potential employees to own up to things that might be a "possible source of embarrassment" for the president-elect. The ambiguity is probably intentional.
For our generation, which has been the first to embrace online social networks and other Internet social spheres, the Obama application process may not seem all that newsworthy. After all, one of the first tasks many young graduates take up these days is to whitewash their Facebook pages, removing photographs of any drunken escapades that might put off potential employers. Yet this is the first time job seekers on a large scale are being asked to own up to activities online that many previously thought were in the private domain. The cloak of anonymity the Internet seemed to offer has been suddenly torn off.
As it is often the executive branch that sets the standard for government hiring practices, it would be naive for anyone to expect the sorts of questions asked by the Obama team are going to disappear once the transition to the new administration is over. Instead, it would be wise to view these questions as a harbinger of change to come. Offensive, racist or otherwise inflammatory postings on the Internet can, and will, be discovered by potential employers. Photographs or videos will be seen and vetted. Even e-mail correspondence might be fair game. The application process being employed by the president-elect is reflective of a broader social awareness about online activities, an awareness that isn't just limited to the federal government.
Many students at the University of Maryland have found out about these new practices the hard way. Some students have been found in violation of the university's alcohol and drug policy because they posted pictures of themselves in the act online. Others have lost job offers because of questionable content on their personal pages. Taking a quick glance at my own activities online, I can't find anything too egregiously embarrassing. Yet there are several instances where I find myself wondering if I shouldn't remove a picture here or delete a posting there. Knowing the kinds of questions Obama is asking, I plan on being much more circumspect in the future, and so should you. Take it as a final warning that we're just as responsible for the things we say online as we are for what we say offline.