In an era that documents much of our lives online, we all participate in some form of online self-curation as part of a process that includes sharing content and opinions. On social media and in public profiles on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, we show parts of ourselves, our interests, to friends, family, acquaintances and even strangers.
This online self-curation gives us a chance to connect with people who think the same way, find the communities we resonate with and create an image in the online world. But there are privacy concerns with the increased use of social media and other sites. Now, most users understand how visible their information trails are and how they can be used by corporations and governments.
This discussion on the ethics of self-crediting has arisen at a time of greater emphasis on online privacy. Moreover, is such sanitization of our online histories ethical, especially when it comes to something like submitting a job application?
The Case for Deleting Likes and Posts
With employers and recruiters increasingly using social media to screen candidates, cleaning up our online histories before a job search has become common advice. The case for temporarily deleting old posts and likes before an important interview is that it allows applicants to focus the spotlight on experiences and qualities relevant to the job. For instance, some candidates even choose to delete all Twitter likes—a small but significant step that can prevent past digital interactions from being taken out of context or misinterpreted.
Irrelevant, years-old information often gets viewed out of context and can undermine how applicants want to present themselves professionally. Since career opportunities can hinge on the impressions hiring staff form of candidates, proactive online reputation management has become necessary for many. Self-censoring helps prevent applications from being unfairly rejected over insignificant details that do not reflect current priorities or values.
Additionally, very personal content like family photos or political and religious affiliations could attract unconscious bias during the hiring process. Removing them evens the playing field to allow applicants to be assessed primarily on merit.
Presenting tailored profiles that align with job requirements also shows understanding of how to navigate professional digital spaces responsibly. As social media literacy becomes a workplace asset, reasonable online curation indicates valuable self-presentation skills.
The Case Against Excessive Self-Censorship
However, arguments against extensive self-censorship also deserve consideration. Firstly, sanitizing online histories to the point they no longer reflect who we truly are can cross ethical lines. While irrelevant content can be temporarily archived, completely deleting years of posts creates an overly manufactured image used expressly to impress employers.
Presenting false online personas contradicts the purposes of authentic relationship building and sharing on social platforms. It also deprives hiring staff of a chance to form holistic impressions of applicants as real, multidimensional individuals with personal lives outside professional settings. Research published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior (2021) indicates that authenticity in digital self-presentation correlates with higher levels of psychological well-being and perceived trustworthiness, both personally and professionally.
Secondly, excessive self-censorship promotes assumptions that individuals have embarrassing or concerning online content that needs to be hidden. Not only does this normalize social media shaming, but it also enables corporate surveillance and penalties over individuals’ private lives. Applicants can feel pressured to over-disclose personal activities like political affiliations that should not determine employability for most roles.
Finally, allowing companies complete control over employees’ social media use can threaten free speech and cause self-censorship to become permanent. Ambiguous corporate policies around staff social media conduct have already led many employees to heavily filter online activity. Further normalizing self-censorship for professional reasons may prevent people from freely expressing themselves online over the long term.
Navigating Self-Curation Ethically
Job-seeking self-censorship involves complex ethical tradeoffs between self-presentation, privacy, and authentic self-expression. However, certain guidelines around online reputation management during a job search may help social media users make ethically balanced decisions:
- Temporarily archive overly personal content not relevant to the job. However, be transparent about the removal if asked.
- Do not delete content that shapes core parts of your identity and lived experiences.
- Remember that no employer has the right to control personal social media activity or demand access to private accounts. You have a right to keep your personal lives separate.
- Do not misrepresent qualifications, experiences, or competencies anywhere on professional profiles and applications.
- Set social media accounts to private during the hiring period if concerned about employer access. But know that asking for passwords likely violates ethics policies.
The Question of Ethics
There are no clear-cut answers around the ethics of self-censoring personal social media use for career advancement. In an imperfect system, job seekers must weigh their right to privacy against the need for income to survive.
However, as awareness grows, employers should also reconsider their own ethics policies around using applicants’ personal information. Studies show no correlation between private social media activity and job performance. Relying on it in hiring even risks introducing more bias.
Greater transparency around organisational social media screening policies could help prevent excessive self-censorship from applicants’ uncertainty. Moving away from policing employees’ social lives outside work hours may better protect private spaces that enrich lives and promote authentic self-expression.
