Not joining Facebook could be a sign that you're a psychopath or just 'suspicious'.

[LoginName]

I'm a 56 year old blue collar worker (with a lot to hide ), that can't begin to fathom how anyone would even think in this manner... let alone put it into practice.

I'll be retiring in less than a year... probably dead in 20.

You 20-30 year olds that have to encounter and deal with this shit... it's only going to get worse as long as you accept it.

Facebook has become such a pervasive force in modern society that increasing numbers of employers, and even some psychologists, believe people who aren't on social networking sites are 'suspicious.'

The German magazine Der Taggspiegel went so far as to point out that accused theater shooter James Holmes and Norwegian mass murder Anders Behring Breivik have common ground in their lack of Facebook profiles.

On a more tangible level, Forbes.com reports that human resources departments across the country are becoming more wary of young job candidates who don't use the site.

The common concern among bosses is that a lack of Facebook could mean the applicant's account could be so full of red flags that it had to be deleted.

Slate.com Advice Columnist, Emily Yoffee, wrote in an advice column that young people shouldn't date anyone who isn't on Facebook.

'If you’re of a certain age and you meet someone who you are about to go to bed with, and that person doesn’t have a Facebook page, you may be getting a false name. It could be some kind of red flag,' he says.

Yoffee points out that these judgements don't apply to older people who were already productive adults before social media became widespread.

The tech news site Slashdot summed up Der Taggspiegel's story about social networking as 'not having a Facebook account could be the first sign that you are a mass murderer.'

And from the comments section...

At my company we do not hire people who do not have Facebook accounts or who make their Facebook accounts inaccessible to H.R. and security personnel. It's very simple, we are looking for a certain type of employee, one who lives a lifestyle that is compatible with our values and corporate mission. If you have anything you need to hide, then seek employment elsewhere. Job seekers, remember that your Facebook is a marketing tool, and the product you are marketing is yourself. Every single post you make, every picture you upload, everything you 'Like,' it's all subject to employer scrutiny. What employers are looking for are physically fit, morally upright, non-political individuals who have enough discretion to avoid posting comments about controversial topics, and who do not feel it necessary to post pictures that might bring discredit to themselves or the organizations they are affiliated with.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ychologists-say-suspicious.html#ixzz22zx8QIrE

 

[OfficerObie59]

Many police departments now are requiring not only that new hires disclose if they have a Facebook account or not, but that those who do surrender their username and password so the background investigator can go peeking around your account from the inside. Reason enough for me to get rid of one if I was getting hired nowadays.

 

[BigMike]

I don't plan on ever getting on FB. Luckily for me I am in a pinky-ring union and almost impossible to get fired

 

[MACGYVR]

If you are a sheep you go with the flock. Not going with the flock means you might be a wolf in sheeps clothing.

They are watching you...

 

[Terminator03]

I guess I must be "suspicious" then because I don't plan to ever have a facebook. I'll leave that for my wife.

 

[mikem317]

I don't even understand the point of Facebook.

 

[ochmude]

Many police departments now are requiring not only that new hires disclose if they have a Facebook account or not, but that those who do surrender their username and password so the background investigator can go peeking around your account from the inside. Reason enough for me to get rid of one if I was getting hired nowadays.

When I was going through the hiring process for USBP the investigator told me it throws up a lot of red flags when a job candidate has a recently deleted Facebook account. Having an account that's locked down is fine, but deleting it is viewed as very suspicious.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

Many police departments now are requiring not only that new hires disclose if they have a Facebook account or not, but that those who do surrender their username and password so the background investigator can go peeking around your account from the inside. Reason enough for me to get rid of one if I was getting hired nowadays.

The dept. I applied to told me to delete all the "stupid shit" on Facebook if any. They told me that pictures drinking, smoking, obnoxious poses etc can lead to a void of acceptance. It makes sense to me and I don't have any stupid pictures on Facebook. I use it to follow metal bands and gun shops/manufacturers. I would say every company Googles your name and your Facebook. It is a crazy world we live in and my age (23) is probably being hit the hardest. It sucks that social networking even exists, I have suspended my account before. Oh well.

 

[WWII_Collector]

I can't agree more, I'm the same age and have gone through multiple employment screenings with depts in this state and others. I find that not having a facebook (even a private or friends only profile like mine) puts up more of a 'red flag'. For one department an officer requested our login name and password and started looking at my account with me there. I kind of accept it as a norm to have it screened.
Should it matter? No, but the fact of the matter is that if I say I don't want them to look then I won't have a snowballs chance in hell of getting my dream job. So I guess it's sit down, shut up, and do it until I get the job I want.

Like a previous poster said, not having an account and being 23 looks alot more suspicious in their eyes. I already have enough going against me (non-military)

All I use facebook for now is to follow a few gun stores. That might look bad though so I think I should fix that... Oh and I'm listed as "conservative" so I might wanna change that one too

 

[glockstones]

Many police departments now are requiring not only that new hires disclose if they have a Facebook account or not, but that those who do surrender their username and password so the background investigator can go peeking around your account from the inside. Reason enough for me to get rid of one if I was getting hired nowadays.

that sounds like an gigantic invasion of privacy, but what else would you expect nowadays.

 

[glockstar]

A future employer requesting a password for a private non work affiliated website, yup thats when you laugh, tell them to take that job and stick it up their ass and walk out. Maybe they want my bank account numbers also so they can decide how much to pay me, &*%$ YOU!

 

[retroLS1]

Sounds about right, guilty until proven innocent

 

[Jose]

A future employer requesting a password for a private non work affiliated website, yup thats when you laugh, tell them to take that job and stick it up their ass and walk out. Maybe they want my bank account numbers also so they can decide how much to pay me, &*%$ YOU!

+1

 

[FrugalFannie]

I am deleting my Facebook account on Friday. What does that 'say' about me?

I am sick of the security breeches on Facebook and the spam and the data mining.

 

[jakes01234]

I dont have one but my father does. He likes to read me what other people i could care less about write on there.. i need to remind him i dont have one for reasons such as this. I dont want to know your eating frosted flakes, dont need to know your taking a poop and saw a spider with a picture of your knees and pants around your ankle and a spider on the floor.. It makes me realize people are STUPID
The stupid FB drives me nuts. I will never get one never, even if the gov says it is required like healthcare, i will just pay the fine hahahaha

 

[Chet0729]

I dont get it at all. People put their whole life up where everyone can see it. Most people will friend anyone to get their friend count as high as possible. I have worked in technology for close to 40 years and I think this is the biggest threat to anyone's privacy their has ever been. It is the single biggest source for malware and viruses there is.

 

[CBudz]

I can't agree more, I'm the same age and have gone through multiple employment screenings with depts in this state and others. I find that not having a facebook (even a private or friends only profile like mine) puts up more of a 'red flag'. For one department an officer requested our login name and password and started looking at my account with me there. I kind of accept it as a norm to have it screened.
Should it matter? No, but the fact of the matter is that if I say I don't want them to look then I won't have a snowballs chance in hell of getting my dream job. So I guess it's sit down, shut up, and do it until I get the job I want.

Like a previous poster said, not having an account and being 23 looks alot more suspicious in their eyes. I already have enough going against me (non-military)

All I use facebook for now is to follow a few gun stores. That might look bad though so I think I should fix that... Oh and I'm listed as "conservative" so I might wanna change that one too

The dept. I applied to told me to delete all the "stupid shit" on Facebook if any. They told me that pictures drinking, smoking, obnoxious poses etc can lead to a void of acceptance. It makes sense to me and I don't have any stupid pictures on Facebook. I use it to follow metal bands and gun shops/manufacturers. I would say every company Googles your name and your Facebook. It is a crazy world we live in and my age (23) is probably being hit the hardest. It sucks that social networking even exists, I have suspended my account before. Oh well.

are you guys ****ing kidding me!? drop that shit and focus on something that matters, like your dream job.

p.s. i'm the same age and deleted mine ~5 years ago

 

[Jose]

I created an account because a riding group I am active with uses only facebook to update what is going on. Without a FB account I could not see anything and would be in the dark.

So I set up a facebook account with the bare minimum information (name, e-mail, birth date). set ALL my privacy settings as tight as I could, and did not add anything else to my profile.

I also do not "like" anyone or anything, don't update or post anything about myself, and "friend" only people who are in the same group as I.

And I have saved somewhere a tutorial on how to completely delete a FB account for when I get tired of it.

 

[Terrence]

I'm 28 and I deleted my fb account 4 years ago after having it for 2 months. It was pointless for me and I viewed it as putting too much private info out there. I also think fb is a great tool for criminals to find out when you are and aren't home, like when my sister in law posts "going on vacation with the family for a week" and I worry that some punk she dated for a week might break into my house while we're all away.
But what do I know...

 

[comptime]

I'm 28 and I deleted my fb account 4 years ago after having it for 2 months. It was pointless for me and I viewed it as putting too much private info out there. I also think fb is a great tool for criminals to find out when you are and aren't home, like when my sister in law posts "going on vacation with the family for a week" and I worry that some punk she dated for a week might break into my house while we're all away.
But what do I know...

QFT
I deleted mine after having it for 2 years. It occurred to me that I usually don't give two shits what 90% of my FB "friends" are doing, and the 10% I do care about I talk to on a regular basis. And while I didn't post anything foolish, you never know what someone else might post on your wall that you might have to explain on Monday morning. I have noticed though that more web based services are now asking you to log in through your face book account, it's starting to get more complicated to operate online without it

 

[jaypap]

Not joining Facebook could be a sign that you're a psychopath or just 'suspicious'.

Well I'm not joining, thanks for the diagnosis that saved me tons on my medical bills.

 

[n1zfg]

Many police departments now are requiring not only that new hires disclose if they have a Facebook account or not, but that those who do surrender their username and password so the background investigator can go peeking around your account from the inside. Reason enough for me to get rid of one if I was getting hired nowadays.

Password?

Producing my facebook user name and password is like giving someone unlimited power of attorney with regards to my presence within facebook's social network.

If they want to be "friended" to see what I've posted that's one thing.
Giving a third party the power to say or do anything as if it were me (even in a limited social environment) is something totally different.

 

[MisterHappy]

I never post anything on the interwebs, either under my real name, or a screen name.

it's the only way to be sure.

 

[drgrant]

A future employer requesting a password for a private non work affiliated website, yup thats when you laugh, tell them to take that job and stick it up their ass and walk out. Maybe they want my bank account numbers also so they can decide how much to pay me, &*%$ YOU!

If every person did this then those kinds of policies would magically disappear. How about that!

-Mike

 

[endus]

There was some action a while ago to prevent employers from requesting this access as part of the hiring process. I can't remember the deal with it. I think it's already against Facebook's terms of use or something. Im too lazy to look it up right now.

I haven't run into this yet and would never turn over my password because...**** you.

 

[Terminator03]

If every person did this then those kinds of policies would magically disappear. How about that!

-Mike

I think like that too, Mike, but unfortunately there will always be some suckup that will give them whatever they request to get the job instead of you. Then it just becomes a game of "biting your nose off to spite your face" - sad, but true...

 

[Terminator03]

There was some action a while ago to prevent employers from requesting this access as part of the hiring process. I can't remember the deal with it. I think it's already against Facebook's terms of use or something. Im too lazy to look it up right now.

I haven't run into this yet and would never turn over my password because...**** you.

If it isn't part of the "terms of use" on the site it should be, because that information exists for security, and ANYONE other than you having your password for access violates that security. I am not against them requesting to be a "friend" so they can see your page, but having full access to your private messages and stuff - f**k that!

 

[joeendris]

Many police departments now are requiring not only that new hires disclose if they have a Facebook account or not, but that those who do surrender their username and password so the background investigator can go peeking around your account from the inside. Reason enough for me to get rid of one if I was getting hired nowadays.

in FB's terms of use, you're not allowed to give over your info to anybody. So effectively, the police depts are asking you to do something illegal...Well, ain't that something special?
http://www.facebook.com/policies/?ref=pf#!/legal/terms

Registration and Account Security
Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account:
1.You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
2.You will not create more than one personal account.
3.If we disable your account, you will not create another one without our permission.
4.You will not use your personal timeline for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).
5.You will not use Facebook if you are under 13.
6.You will not use Facebook if you are a convicted sex offender.
7.You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.
8.You will not share your password (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.
9.You will not transfer your account (including any Page or application you administer) to anyone without first getting our written permission.
10.If you select a username or similar identifier for your account or Page, we reserve the right to remove or reclaim it if we believe it is appropriate (such as when a trademark owner complains about a username that does not closely relate to a user's actual name).

Before a retort about "jeopardizing", just the mere fact that someone else has access, inherently jeopardizes any password protected account.

A future employer requesting a password for a private non work affiliated website, yup thats when you laugh, tell them to take that job and stick it up their ass and walk out. Maybe they want my bank account numbers also so they can decide how much to pay me, &*%$ YOU!

Companies can **** themselves if they think they're going to force me to give them access my personal accts that have nothing to do with work. We should ALL be in the same boat here.

Not joining Facebook could be a sign that you're a psychopath or just 'suspicious'.
Well I not joining, thanks for the diagnosis that saved my tons on my medical bills.

 

[Horrible]

Maybe the .gov will require us all to create a Facebook account and impose a "tax" if we don't since they now can. Thanks to CJ Roberts.

 

[massduster]

I have an account, but never use it - everytime I go on, I lose respect for friends of mine. Not because they are posting dumb drunk pictures, but because of their ridiculous, uninformed, liberal brain washed political posts. I've literally lost a lot of respect for 3-4 people I've known for years (and had never talked politics with).