Would You Mind, Can I Have Your Facebook Password?
Nikki Gardner
Roberts Wesleyan College

Social media has connected the entire world to one another. It has become a cornerstone of communication in the 21st century with websites such as Google, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to name a few. Since this large boom in social media usage in the past 10 years, many issues have arose with it as well. One of these issues was addressed and discussed in the essay, “Why Asking for a Job Applicant’s Facebook Password is Fair Game” by Alfred Edmond Jr. Edmond’s main argument is that, from the perspective of the business owner, it is appropriate for the employer to ask a job applicant for their Facebook password before being hired. The reasons that he gives for this are in multitude (Edmond, 2012).
For example, the author states that anything posted on Facebook isn’t necessarily private to begin with, so the applicant should have nothing to hide. Everything on social media isn’t personal, so passwords shouldn’t be compared to giving up personal property. Another reasoning is that looking through someone’s Facebook account is equivalent to a background check, or even a credit score check. The information that these checks present, are equal to that of what a Facebook profile can say about someone’s character. The final major reason that Edmond brings up, is the fact that in occupations like child care, and education, this could be very preventive. There are many issues regarding teacher-student relationships, and inappropriate behaviors that could be caught easier with Facebook profile checks before being hired. After reading this essay, I have come to the conclusion that I agree with Edmond’s argument. I agree that if an employer had access to look at an applicant’s profile, there could be much less issues with staffing in certain occupations. For me, I can speak personally for Edmond’s example of child care. I was a toddler teacher for a year before going to college here at Roberts. The day care center that I worked at, had a large issue with professionalism amongst some of the part time staff. Our daycare center in particular did not drug test, but did run background checks and fingerprints, because NYS mandates those in particular. I believe that if my boss and supervisors had the ability and opportunities to look at and go through the profiles of some of the staff that they had, the center would not have had as many issues as we did. We had problems with teachers coming in hungover, smelling like alcohol, and we had staff that would call off work and go out partying and doing illegal drugs. I don’t have a problem with having fun outside of work, and taking a mental health day here and there, but these teachers did not understand the balance of work and play. They made many parents uncomfortable with their presentation and appearance, and they were often reported to the supervisors because of it. Perhaps instead of asking for the password, I believe, that any employer should be able to run some sort of deep cyber check on any applicants. They wouldn’t necessarily need a Facebook password, but there has to be some company that can go back and look at all of