Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Fama.
Why do people use social media? The world of psychology has a field dedicated to human behavior and thought processes on social networks and the Internet – cyberpsychology – which has identified several key benefits humans derive from constant connection with people behind social media accounts:
- Although real-world social interaction is considerably different than interaction
through the Internet, the inherent human need for social interaction is a big
reason why it’s so popular. - With Internet connections available throughout most places in developed
countries – over 99 percent of the population in the United States is covered
through mobile phones – passing time is easier than ever before. - People are more confident expressing their views through social media,
especially behind accounts that don’t reveal their identity, or when they
communicate with other people that don’t know one another in real life. - Let’s face it – we all "creep" on others’ social media pages from time to time,
whether that’s our latest crush, family members, or coworkers. Thanks to most
people being so comfortable with sharing what they think and feel, gathering
knowledge about others’ intimate, personal lives has never been so easy.
We overlook the reasons behind social media’s never-before- seen proliferation – there are plenty more rewards humans derive from being active on Facebook, Twitter, and company – and don’t often, if ever, think about them.
Individuals Aren’t The Only People With Social Media Profiles
How many people are there in the United States of America? About 320,000,000 – 320 million.
What about the number of all businesses in America, large and small? The Small Business Administration indicates roughly 28 million businesses of all shapes, sizes, and focuses.
Even if all businesses did, in fact, have social media profiles they ran actively, individuals’ accounts would widely outnumber levels of corporate and small business accounts, combined.
Businesses Get What Advantage From This Ratio?
Ever heard of a background check? They’re expensive, inconvenient, and take time – not to mention, they might not pull up a complete set of information on job applicants in need of those background searches.
With soooooo many individual accounts, especially among young, working-class people, businesses are able to find profiles for most of their applicants.
Why Bother With Social Media Screening?
Just like personal social media use has its benefits, so does the relatively new social media background check:
- Outside of labor, electricity, Internet, computer equipment, it’s free.
- Businesses find thing traditional searching methods would never find.
- Social media screening is lightning fast.
What Should Businesses On The Prowl For Candidates Look Out For, Anyways?
If you’re too busy to bother picking up this new skill, many firms, businesses, organizations, and entities solicit help from the pros at Fama, a popular social media screening company.
Great question. Although people that think negatively aren’t nice to be around, businesses should almost always seek out negative, objectively bad information in applicants they’re looking for.
Here’s why – let’s say a candidate plasters positive on top of positive post on their account. How do they indicate readiness for employment? They don’t, truthfully. Imagine the opposite – a candidate plasters negative, negative, negative… ad nauseam.
Who wants to work with a “Negative Nancy?” That’s one strike right there, not to mention such negative posts are often inappropriate.