You know that Tweet, Facebook wall post, or Tumblr message you put up and then immediately regretted? It turns out you’re not alone! A new study has found that 1 in 4 young adults regret their social media posts.
Legal information website FindLaw.com conducted a “demographically balanced” survey among 1,000 American adults. The company asked about social website behavior for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest. As it turns out 1-in-4 young adults fear they will get fired or be turned down for a job because of their social media posts.
In the 18 to 34 year old range 29% of young adults say they have posted a photo, comment or other personal information they believe could affect their current or future job prospects.
The study also found that 74% of 18- to 34-year-olds have removed something to avoid “negative reaction” from employers.
In the 35-to-64 group 36% of respondents admitted to removing potentially negative information that could affect their job or future job prospects.
So what does FindLaw think about its findings? The company tells social media users to setup privacy settings to avoid public postings. The group also suggests seeking legal help for wrongful termination based on social media status updates.
The study did find that 82% of young adults “pay at least some attention to their privacy settings.”
According to Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney-editor at FindLaw.com:
“Taking down or removing a post or photo may not be enough, as the information may continue to live on in other parts of the Internet … It’s best to assume that anything that you post could live on the Internet forever, and to think accordingly before hitting the ‘Post’ button.”
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
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