Kids Turn Their Back on Social Networks
I never want to hear that all young people are “into social networks” again. A recent little experiment I conducted proved otherwise.
Recently, I’ve been interviewing college-aged students for a summer temp position at my full-time gig. Since the job involves some writing and proofreading, I issue a short quiz that includes several basic spelling and grammar questions, along with some simple writing exercises. Since the organization would like to increase its presence on social networks, I figured I’d ask each kid to name three (excluding MySpace and Facebook).
I interviewed eight people for the position. Guess how many of them were able to complete the social networking question. That’s right. ZERO.
The students offered all kinds of excuses (‘I’ve been studying abroad’; ‘My brain froze’; ‘I’m not on the computer that often’).
Keep in mind, this job is for the INTERNET department.
I understand that the answers that eight people provided does not constitute a scientifically accurate focus group. However, these were smart kids with varying levels of education who have grown up within 30 miles of New York City.
During the candidate research process, I was able to locate several of them of MySpace and Facebook. However, many of the profiles were established several years ago and are not regularly updated.
Is the use of social networks by American youth overblown? Or are they simply only using MySpace and Facebook?
Speaking of which, out of the seven who had some sort of online profile, I’d say ALL of them had information that could easily be used against them when considering them for a position. In this case, they’re lucky I’m a nice guy. 
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Anche I Poppanti Avranno Il Loro Social Network - S.O.C.I.A.L. said this on June 7, 2008 5:45 pm
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TechWag » Fear seems to rule the day with social networks said this on November 11, 2008 9:18 am