The essay “Why Asking for a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password If Fair Game” written by Alfred Edmond, discusses why employers should be allowed to ask for employees Facebook passwords. Alfred Edmond works as a senior vice president of a media organization that publishes magazine. He is also on TV and radio programs. Because he writes for a magazine and talks publicly on TV and the radio one can assume he is trustworthy and credible.
The thesis of this essay is the line that says “ Should business owners be allowed to ask job applicants for their Facebook passwords?” (Edmond 131). This sentence tells exactly what the essay is going to be arguing. Edmond describes several of his main ideas through explicit points. He makes a point about his opinions and feelings about each part of the argument. The first point given after the thesis is him telling that he would not want to give his facebook password to a potential employer. He then goes on to say how he would try and negotiate with the employer by offering the
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password for a short period of time and then changing it. Another alternative would be making his profile open for anyone to see any type of public information. These two points were his opinion as a potential employee, but as a business owner he changed his mind about the situation. As a business owner, Edmond believes that it should be okay to ask employees for their Facebook password. He then goes on to explain why he feels this way, and how it is beneficial to business owner. Next, he states that asking for Facebook passwords and possibly upsetting people is worth it because it allows the business owner to hire the very best applicant, and avoid any legal issues. To prevent having issues with employers, he explains that it’s best to keep private information off of Facebook because it is not secure. Finally, the essay is wrapped up by Edmond asking “How far is too far when it comes to a potential employer investigating the social media activity of a job applicant” (Edmond 133). This point leaves his essay open-ended and allows for other people to have their own opinion. Throughout the essay, Edmond gives his opinion along with evidence a lot; this doesn't leave much for the reader to assume. But, there are a few points that one might assume while reading his essay. One might wonder what made him passionate about this topic, it can be assumed that he may have been asked for his Facebook password and might have felt uncomfortable about it. Now, Edmond understands why it is sometimes necessary to ask for an employees Facebook password, and you can tell by reading the essay he is passionate about the topic. Another idea that might be assumed by readers is that Edmond witnessed child assault or some type of mistreatment, which made him believe that further investigation of potential employees is a smart idea. It is obvious that he wants to inform people why it is important and okay for an employer to ask for your password. Edmond used all three types of methods of persuasion in his essay.
Most of his essay was composed of logical appeals because it is a serious more focused topic. Before Edmond explained why he was for sharing passwords with employers, he stated that in Facebook’s terms of rights and responsibilities it forbids used from sharing passwords. This fact helps support why employers should not ask and sets up a good counter argument. Next, he provides reasons for allowing employers to have one’s password. By having the password to access a future employees social media can allow the employer to make the best hire, and protect everyone in the work environment. He goes on to point out how Facebook is not safe even though they provide “privacy tools and special settings”. Finally, he explains that social media is meant for sharing information with the public that can be found in the future. That is why one should never post something personal on their social
media. Because Edmonds topic was serious he didn’t use very many non-rational appeals. Although he did say “for those of you who still believe in Santa Claus” (Edmond 133), which was a sarcastic saying making it seem like he's clearly correct. One other time that he used non-rational appeal was when he said “ always assuming that posting on Facebook is just the ticking time bomb version of you shouting your private business from the middle of Time Square- on steroids” (Edmond 133). This sentence is very sarcastic and he uses a hyperbole to make his point stand out. Lastly, Edmond uses emotional appeal. The essay is not based on people's emotions, but it does have parts that could make people feel bad or sad. After he talks about why people would not want to share their passwords with employers; he explains why it is sometimes necessary to do it. For example, when working with children it is important to hire a safe and trustworthy person. By checking the applicants Facebook activity they can detect inappropriate social media communications with minors, or other incidents such as sexual relationships. After reading the essay, one might agree with Edmond and feel emotional at the thought of someone dangerous taking care of children. In the essay Edmond uses evidence to support his claim. Two of the four types were used, which are examples and expert testimony. He did not use experimentation or statistical data in his essay. In the first paragraph, Edmond uses expert testimony and references Congress when he tells that they failed to pass a law that would ban employers from asking employees to share their passwords. Then he explains that most employers would not find it necessary to have an employees Facebook password, but for example when someone is working in the childcare industry it may be totally appropriate. Next, he provides an example of school staff having relationships with students in New York City. This example supports his claim and adds reason. Finally, he uses expert testimony and references Eli Pariser The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. The book tells all about the business of social media and how people use it incorrectly. I think that Edmond did a good job with his essay and gave logical reasons behind his idea. The essay is easy to understand and does not require the reader to define many words. This is helpful because most people will be able to read and understand exactly what he means. At the beginning of his essay I agreed with what he was saying. I think in many cases there are ways around asking for an employers Facebook password. But then he started to explain, as a business owner, why he believes it is smart to ask for employees Facebook passwords. He is concerned with the wellbeing of children, which I do agree with. I think there is a time and place where it is appropriate, but it's definitely not necessary for every job. Edmond did a great job acknowledging both sides of the argument. Overall, this essay presents a current issue and how it may be taken care of. I think Edmonds opinion was started, but it was not overwhelmingly one side, which made it easier to read the essay and have an open mind. Edmond gives good advice through explicit and implicit points, argumentation, emotional appeals, examples, and expert testimony.
The enthymeme seen throughout Fleming 's essay is that there should be more control of social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Myspace because of the dangers they are known to cause for young people.
These sources include Sherry Turkle, a professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and analyst Andrew Frank from Gartner Research (171,173). While both of these sources are from respectable technology backgrounds, Wortham does not disclose why their work is relevant to her essay. She gives no research results from studies that her sources have completed that supports the idea that Facebook corrupts the emotions of the public. The scarcity of support from her sources fails to reinforce her main points in her
This specific article addresses the implications of “online social networking and how they transcend disciplinary actions and reputational harm” (442). Fleming begins her argument by paralleling the transformative properties of the invention of the telephone years ago to social networks today (440). Students’ online identities come at a price, allowing job recruiters, school administrators, ...
I enjoyed this article because I agreed beforehand with the points that the author made. It was also important that the author began and ended the article with some of the positive points about using Facebook, so that a reader who might be a fan of the site does not regard the article as an attack on Facebook, but rather a guide to the safer use of social media.
Rosen makes the argument that people surrender all privacy through “self-revelation” (Rosen), they destroy their privacy to fit in with society and to join the naked crowd. Rosen defines social media as a place where people surrender privacy to “achieve trust through self-exposure” (Rosen). In his eyes, people are simply giving away privacy to become transparent within society. I believe that people are actually exchanging one type of power for another. Foucault’s complex analysis of power can be simplified into “Power is everywhere” (Foucault). People exchange the power of privacy for the power of connection. The author of the journal article agrees with the exchange of power, “Trust is indeed achieved within Facebook in the way Rosen argues; however, this trust is the product of an exchange of power.” (Brittany). Social media allows us to connect instantly with people all over the world. As with any situation, humans assess the risk factors and the benefits of any decision they have to make, they will...
Ever since Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2004, millions of people have flocked to the website, resulting in “1.49 billion active users” (Facebook). Facebook allows users to not only reconnect with old friends, but also share whatever the user deems necessary. Facebook has many privacy settings that enable users to prevent anyone from seeing what they post. Even so, skeptics out in the world strongly attest that Facebook, and similar social media websites, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. In the essay Why Asking for a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password Is Fair Game, Alfred Edmond Jr. addresses the false security Facebook provides to its users, and uses that notion to support his claim that bosses should
Alfred Edmond Jr. wrote the article, Why Asking for a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password is Fair Game. In the article he assessed and argued that you should provide your potential employer with your Facebook password because nothing is ever really private. Edmond effectively persuades the reader to agree with him by uniting his audience and establishing his credibility, providing scenarios that toy with the reader’s emotions, and by making logical appeals. In addition to making these appeals he successfully incorporates an informal tone that further sways the reader to grasp the essence of his argument. These are the elements that make Edmond’s argument valid and persuasive. He is able to convince us that providing a possible employer with something that is private such as our password will ultimately be beneficial for everyone in the situation.
“The standards of what we want to keep private and what we make public are constantly evolving. Over the course of Western history, we’ve developed a desire for more privacy, quite possibly as a status symbol…”(Singer) Technological change leads to new abuses, creating new challenges to security, but society adapts to those challenges. To meet the innate need for privacy, we learn what to reveal and where, and how to keep secret what we don't want to disclose. “Whether Facebook and similar sites are reflecting a change in social norms about privacy or are actually driving that change, that half a billion people are now on Facebook suggests that people believe the benefits of connecting with others, sharing information, networking, self-promoting, flirting, and bragging outweigh breaches of privacy that accompany such behaviours,”(Singer) This is obvious by the continuous and unceasing use of social media platforms, but what needs to be considered is that this information is being provided willingly. “More difficult questions arise when the loss of privacy is not in any sense a choice.”(Singer) When the choice to be anonymous it taken away through social media, the person loses the ability to keep their personal information
He is the senior Vice President and multimedia editor of Black Enterprise, a world renowned media organization. According to the official Black Enterprise website on it’s author tab, he is a “content leader, brand representative and expert resource for all media platforms under the Black Enterprise brand, including the magazine, television shows, web site, social media and live networking events.” This would make him completely qualified to give his own take on using social media for methods other than simple sharing between friends. Edmond understands the value of social media, and how it’s usage has affected modern society with either a positive or negative impact.
Social network profiles are the most essential tool to judge job applicants because it reflects a good image of the job applicants. For example, if the company is recruiting a writer, it would be better to choose a person who has a blog web page in a blogging website such as Word-Press that shows and reflects his/her ability in writing. In addition to that, a Human Resources manager can check this person’s Facebook and Twitter in order to see his/her grammar and writing skills. This information provides accurate and complete picture about the candidate. (Fish & Lee, n.d). Moreover, social network profiles can prove the application as it shows applicant’s participation in many fields. For instance, when a recruiter enters person’s blog that includes art and design work, it will show his/her passion to work as a designer in the company. Therefore, it is important to judge applicants based on their social media profiles because it shows a good image of the person.
The situation revolving around these sites is not likely to clear up any time soon; in fact, as freshmen enter higher education institutions, more activity regarding social networking will take place. Christine Rosen, “a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington” (2), said that the amount of freedom and control that technology gives us also provides a direct route for marketers to advertise products to these users. In addition, she says that college administrators use Facebook as a means of snooping around to find evidence of illegal activity of students. Many of these administrators and employers also create fake profiles in order to conduct these investigations, although, as spokesman for Facebook Chris Hughes says, creating...
Facebook privacy and security have many benefits, problems, and challenges. There is a benefit for every security setting on Facebook but the real concern comes along when it comes to facing the problem and how this problem goes into different steps of challenges, and how we can fix that problem in order for privacy not to be a huge issue. A person that has access to Facebook wants to share their everyday moments to the world such as sharing personal posts, photos and videos, and that’s what Facebook is basically known for.
This is yet another way of invading privacy. In the past, employers would only know what you told them in your interview. They would assess your skills and determine if you were right for the job, aside from knowing your beliefs or views. However, now with Facebook an employer can see all the personal information, this can negatively influence a candidate’s job. The same goes for those who are currently employed and potential students. “Dr. Nora Barnes, Director for the Center of Marketing Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, published a study that showed more than 20% of colleges and universities search social networks for their admissions candidates” (Fodeman). This is becoming a part of the admissions process, but it is unfair. Searching someone’s Facebook to determine his or her admissions eligibility is wrong and a privacy invasion. As long as a student has fulfilled the school’s requirements and done well in school, why should it matter what their personal lives are like? In the time before Facebook, this would be like a school sending someone to secretly follow a potential student and see what he or she does in their
As college students and adults prepare for the real world, people are constantly faced with how to prepare for interviews and the hiring process with jobs. One factor of that is the gray area that is the idea of social media and networking helping to assist with the hiring process. Technology has become a privacy and employment issue that future employees face. When it comes to employment companies a have no boundaries and employers need to realize that social media should be used only for non-bias practices and not employment decisions based on someone’s Facebook post. Topic: How Privacy and Employment Laws effect Social Media changing the Hiring Process.
Sephton, Guy. "Social Networks Are An Invasion of Privacy." The Daily Touch RSS. N.p., 27 Oct. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.