Social Media and the Workplace: A View from the United States

• Author: Renee Mattei Myers
• Pages: 181-193

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SocialMediaandtheWorkplace

AV IE WF ROM TH EU NI TE DS TATE S

ReneeMaeiMyers*

AINTRODUCTION

SocialnetworkingsitessuchasTwierandFacebookexplodedinpopu-

larityon theInternetscenei nAccordingtoWikipediaFacebook

whichsta rtedasa socialnet workfor Harvardstudents onlynow has

morethanmil lionactive usersworldwide AndTwierhas more

thanmillionusersworldwideWiththeexplosionoftheelect ronic-

allycommun icatedpictureorwordmessagehowevercomeadditional 

butnotentirelynewdilemmasforemployers

With the introduction of computers in the workplace employers

began dealing with what constituted proper useofthecompanycom-

puter systemWith t he introduction of the Internet employers began

dealing with what constituted properuseoftheInternetintheworkplace

Employersthenbegantodeveloppoliciesrestrictingtheuseofcompany

computersInshortthe greatertheelectronicin uencetheg reaterthe

potentialexists fordistractionandoutsideinuenceupona norganiza-

tionAnd becausemanyi ndividuals aremorelikely toconfrontother

individualsviat hekeyboardratherthanfacetofacet heytendtotype

and click send without full con siderationof the con sequences While

* ReneeMaeiMyersisamemberofEcker tSeamansCherinMelloinHa rris-

burgPennsylvan iawithafocusonlabourandemploymentmaers

 Onlinehpenwikipediaorgw ikiFacebook

 Onlinehpenwikipediaorgw ikiTwier