1. Social Media: Is there a Need
for Professional Best Practice
Etiquette for Undergraduate
Students
Adalheidur Reed & Cathleen Norris

2. Why
The social media
service monitor
Reppler reported in a
Lack of research
recent study with over
gauging professional
300 professional
social media training
participants that over
for undergraduate
90% of employers use
students.
social media to screen
potential employees
(Reppler, 2011).

3. Purpose of the Study
Insufficient evidence base
determining undergraduate Adding to the existing body
job or career loss due to of knowledge of
being unprofessional, under- undergraduate Social Media
trained, unsophisticated (SM) training.
social media citizens (SMC).
Increase undergraduate
Try to minimize
awareness to the harmful
undergraduate job or career
effects of unprofessional,
loss.
inappropriate SM behavior.

4. Research Questions
Do
undergraduate
students know
what best When the
practices in undergraduate
Do
Are Did the social professional students initially
undergraduate Are
At what age do undergraduate media social media started using
students undergraduate
undergraduate students educational tool interactions are? social media did
perceive students
students start concerned as to change how the (What are they understand
themselves to be professional
using social how they portray treated students undergraduate the possible
professional social media
media? themselves via act via social student’s professional
social media citizens?
social media? media? perceptions of impact their
citizens?
negative and interactions
positive could have?
professional
social media
interactions?)

5. Social Media Educational Tool
Professional Unprofessional
• Positive Promotion • Negative Promotion
• Professional Promotion • Unprofessional Promotion
• Communicate • Racism
• Respect • Nudity
• Network • Violence
• Collaborate • Politically Incorrect
• Connect • Bullying
• Profanity
(Bandura, 1977 )

6. Unprofessional Social Media Use
Loss of Loss of Job
Education •Employers use
•Universities use social media for Loss of Career
social media for background checks
background checks (Reppler, 2011).
(Burgos, 2012).

7. Participants
Control Group
Participants 15
The total number
Experimental
of participants Experimental
Group CTEC
3350 Participants
were 59 (N = 59) Group LTEC
1100
22 Participants 22

8. Participants & Setting
This web design course was Participants in group B will be a
made-up of 22 students and combination of two Learning
Technology hybrid class sections;
Participants
was a face to face class that
met 80 min twice a week.
with a total of 27 students where
each section met once a week for an
who will not
Prior to the first day of class
students received e mailed
hour and twenty minutes.
The first day of class students in two
treated with the
containing this URL
course sections were informed that
class information and networking social media
CTEC 3350
LTEC 1100
Experimental Group
Experimental Group
Control Group
https://www.facebook.com/ho would be communicated within a
me.php#!/groups/364873626 Facebook group created for two
class sections.
educational
914157/ for a class
Facebook Group and they Students received e mail containing
this URL
tool were
were asked to join.
First day class a syllabus
https://www.facebook.com/home.ph
p#!/groups/138477459629230/ to
undergraduate
stating that 10% of the class
grade was partition in the
the class Facebook Group and
asked to join. students from
class Facebook Group. Students were offered 10 bonus
grade points for what was called a two universities
Students were offered 10
bonus grade points for survey
social media participation; which
included participation in the
Facebook group participation and
in North Texas.
participation. survey participation.
Students used the Facebook Students used the Facebook Group
Group through the fall 2012 through the fall 2012 semester as a
semester as a learning learning management system.
management system.

9. Findings
“What age were you at the time when you
Do you worry about your professional self-
first created an online social media
image on your social media account?
account?”

10. Findings
What type of social media postings do you
Do you try to be professional when you use
think can positively impact your future
social media?
career? (Created using www.wordle.com)

11. Findings
What types of inappropriate postings do you Do you think that being part of a class
think may cost you future jobs? Facebook Group has made you a more
professional social media citizen?

12. Findings
Did you feel like when you first started using social media you knew the
professional long term effects of posting something inappropriate?

13. Conclusion
The students in the LTEC 1100 class were the youngest overall
participants and of the three groups examined as well as the youngest
at the time their social media was created. They had the least amount
of worry about their future careers being effected by inappropriate
social media use, as well as feeling that at the time when their social
media was created they knew the long term effects of inappropriate
social media postings. Their ages may have played a role in their
relaxed outlook of the foreseeable cost to their future careers due to
unprofessional social media use. The researcher recommends creating
a clear set of “how to” for students to learn what the ramifications of
inappropriate social media use can potentially levy on their future
careers, allowing students a higher chance employability with receiving
adequate social media training at an early age.