Social media has changed our lives immensely in both positive and negative manners. It has allowed us to engage with others, learn about political issues and familiarizing ourselves with celebrity gossip and drama. It allows children and adults alike to utilize what social media has to offer.

That being said, teenagers enjoy it into their adult lives, through various stages, unfortunately including the arrogance and ignorance that comes with young ages. High school kids are often not yet individually minded and are influenced by others with extreme ease. Social media allows kids, teens and adults to see each other’s content – and not always those from one’s friends and whom they follow. 

It is easy and habitual to log onto a social media site and express one’s opinions, frustrations and excitements. Young social media users are easily influenced, gassed and opinionated. While everyone should be opinionated and open to share, not everyone is going to be easily influenced and swayed. As we grow older and become individuals, our opinions, outlooks and stances on topics and problems grow and change. Teenagers and young adults may speak out on social media with an opinion considered controversial, only to grow out of unacceptable biases as they learn and expand their horizons. 

Employers use social media as a tool to narrow down and screen potential hires and interviewees. Checking out social media sites and profiles to ensure employers do not hire felons, thieves, terrorists and other people that would cause potential harm is one positive aspect. People share personal information that may prevent negative hires and terrible situations. 

Recently, employers and other social media users have been digging through profiles to extract posts that are considered controversial, unacceptable and utterly offensive from years ago. People are getting in trouble, fired and shamed for things that were said and thought during a whole different stage of life, before growth and while they were ignorant and influenced by those around them more so than anything else. More than likely, these people have changed for the better and would no longer speak or think the way they may have when said post was posted. 

Old tweets should not affect present day, as the person may have changed and grown. For example, Blake Shelton was tweet-shamed after winning 2017’s Sexiest Man Alive for having compared Dakota Fanning and Amanda Seyfried (both beautiful, talented women). Shelton apologized immensely for his seemingly racist comparison after opposers of his award dug up a tweet from 2011. This was a 6-year-old tweet, something never seen from Shelton today. 

Shelton’s tweet was one of controversy and had little effect on his career. However, a lot of celebrities who have shared on social media as well as people just finding jobs have had tweets from their past that they do not agree with anymore resurface, coming close to or completely ruining their careers and chances. Most apologize for their posts sincerely, and considering they are old posts that they have likely grown out of, those who have should not be penalized for the past.