Trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers? More like Twitter fingers turn to trigger fingers.
Maybe Meek Mill’s fingers turned to Twitter fingers regarding his beef with Drake, but it’s the complete opposite for millennials. Our Twitter fingers can be detrimental to our future.
Social media in general could be detrimental to millennials’ future.
Last week, @_zolarmoon captivated the Internet with her humorous, compelling and suspenseful Twitter story, which is informally referred to as “Zola’s Story.” Aziah King’s story is made up of 158 tweets and tells the story of her and three others’ wild Florida adventure.
The story involves stripping, prostitution and sex-trafficking — King even mentions witnessing a murder, possibly making her an accomplice.
Twitter got a good kick out of the story, but many people questioned why she would air her dirty laundry on social media, considering most of her story consists of illegal actions.
Not only could she possibly be facing legal repercussions, but this could make it hard for her to get a job in the business world.
Many of the people questioning Zola’s tweets should be mindful of their own social media content.
Obviously “Zola’s Story” is a dramatic example — the average tweeter won’t capture the attention of the entire Internet with a rampage of tweets, nor will they tweet about witnessing a murder.
However, it should still be an eye-opener.
What King may have thought was just entertainment is now the first thing that pops up when you Google her name.
Tweets, Instagrams and Facebook posts can and will play a role in your future endeavours.
According to Time, 93 percent of employers will search through the social media of potential hirees during the interview process.
College years are when you need to be the most mindful of your social media content. As much as you may want to showcase your continuous partying and large consumption of alcohol, those tweets and pictures will come back and haunt you.
According to Forbes, 34 percent of employers haven’t hired a person because of their social media content. Of those employers, 45 percent didn’t offer a job to a potential employee because of pictures on their social media displaying drug use and/or alcohol consumption.
The worst part is we are the guinea pigs. Millennials are the first generation exposed to social media, and future generations will learn from our mistakes. Millennials can only use our common sense and learn from each other.
However, there is a bright side to social media. With some discretion and a little common sense, it is possible to use your social media platform to your advantage. Instead of aimlessly tweeting, tweet with a purpose.
Yeah, you can tweet some foolish things for a few retweets and a couple of laughs, but you’ll regret it in the long run.
Be careful what you tweet unless your career goal is to be Twitter famous, then tweet whatever your little heart desires.
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science sophomore from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ClarkePerkins.