The past week has really made me remember how dangerous social media can be if it is used improperly. There are many great things social media has brought us; staying connected with friends and family far away, being able to share pictures with others and in some aspects and, meeting new people. Unfortunately, it has taken a couple of terrible, offensive events to make us all recall that what we’re posting online right now as college students can end up affecting us for the rest of our lives.

I’ve heard it from my teachers and parents since elementary school. What you put on the Internet, will never go away. Whether you choose to believe this or not, it is true.

Why is this concept so difficult for some of us to remember? Is it because we think we’re funny, or because we try way too hard to look “cool” to our audience? Because Snapchat makes us feel like what we’re saying will always go away?

Whatever the reason, we are adults, and we need to realize that not everything needs to be put on Snapchat, Twitter or Facebook. People may be perceiving your post differently than how you intended, but what you meant doesn’t matter once you click send. It’s how the viewers perceive it that matters. If your post is a joke between friends, keep it that way; the world doesn’t need to see it.

Whether you think it is a myth or not, when you apply for a serious job, the company will take your social media accounts into consideration during the application. As you’re nearing graduation, it is important to make sure you go through and do a clean-up of all your accounts, to avoid losing out on  job opportunities because of one dumb picture or an old joke that could be misinterpreted. If you insist on posting things that could get you in trouble, the least you can do is make your account or post private, to avoid prying eyes and future scrutiny. There are many steps you can take to lessen the chance of you getting caught in an awkward position because of something you posted on social media.

In regard to the social media mishaps that occurred at UND last week, I am very disappointed, along with many other students. It is upsetting that something so rude and preventable has even happened in the first place. It is really unfortunate that our entire university, and even the whole state of North Dakota, is being categorized on the same level as the people who posted the pictures. These events have gone viral, and I have seen all over social media things like, “Well, that’s North Dakota for you,” or “all of UND is racist,” or even statements as far as, “Wow, white people suck.”

I am feeling the wrath of raging people from all over the country for an action I had nothing to do with, and I don’t think that’s fair. There are a lot of people within this university and within the state of North Dakota who are good people. The whole state isn’t racist because of the mistakes made by a few students, and I hope everyone realizes that.

The bottom line here is that we need to stop posting stupid things on social media, and we need to take responsibility for our own actions. Think before you post, especially when your posts could end up affecting the reputation of others, not just you. If you think it might offend someone, maybe you should refrain.

One would think this would all be common sense, but unfortunately, Voltaire seemed to have described our generation all too well when he said, “Common sense is not so common.”We’re old enough and mature enough to be in college, so it’s time we start acting like it.

Emily Gibbens is an opinion writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]