What do you want to be remembered for?
Do you want to be remembered as the top graduate of your college, best athlete in the NCAA or possibly the best writer at a newspaper?
Or would you rather be remembered as the person who downed a dozen Four Lokos and proceeded to steal a tiger?
The actions many college students engage in during this 21st century digital age all seem to share one common action — posting on social media sites.
Through the use of social networking, it’s easy for you, your friends, your parents and possibly a future employer to see what you have or haven’t done during your college career.
The same site that introduced the world to Farmville and Mafia Wars could also easily be the ticket to your future — and it’s a difficult pill to swallow.
Some of you might read this as a parental lecture, but a simple Google search can lead to hours of reading about the unfortunate souls who have had their lives ruined thanks to Facebook and other social networking sites.
In this digital age, information can easily be gathered on almost any topic.
Hardly anyone actually goes to a library anymore, as the Internet is a more convenient tool for “research.”
Yet this ease of access can have negative effects, as well.
Think about it — anything you post on the Internet, even if done so “privately,” — is now public domain for anyone to see.
Yes, that means all blog posts, LiveJournal entries, tweets and status updates are public knowledge for everyone in the world.
To many, this is common knowledge, and I’m most likely preaching to the choir — but it still amazes me the things people post and tweet about.
Speaking first hand, we at The Daily Reveille have a very tight social networking policy and would come under fire from management if we post certain inappropriate content.
And college athletes are constantly under social networking surveillance.
Easily the most popular public figures of the University, athletes are monitored by Athletic Department officials for postings and pictures and receive serious consequences if something inappropriate surfaces.
No university wants to be thrown in the spotlight over anything negative — just look at Auburn.
Now, I would never advocate any type of censorship or “Big Brother” approach — I’m a huge fan of the First Amendment and love freely speaking my mind — but people need to be more careful to what they put on the Internet.
Even if it’s something private, it will find its way to the masses (see Brett Favre).
Don’t ruin your professional life because you thought it necessary to make an ass out of yourself at a party last weekend and brag about it to your friends via Facebook.
Be smart and think about what you tweet and what you post on Facebook.
Remember, anyone can — and will — see it.
Adam Arinder is a 21-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
 
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Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]