Be careful, Big Brother is always watch 1 Katrina Stokes cmewhere in the depths of ( Froboot es pot alles photo of meas a university student ) clutching pineapple vodka ~_/ cruisers, wearing the shortest of dresses, dancing and laughing ater one too many sai olly waters, Posting photo albums on socal media was all the rage back then 0 1 dare say there are dozens. potentially hundreds — of snaps of me and my friends on social media ke that. Ava young ada, Cadet really think of the potential eonsoquenees of ‘hose pictures ‘Since then I've done a small picture cull. Not Because Pm embarrassed or ashamed of that ime of my life 1 ‘wasn't doing anything legal or wrong orneughty=- Twas ust generally hhavingfum and doing what Young peopl ‘While Inredibly innocent as far as those pletures go, potential employers are now using social media as an aided means of screening future staff to Eauge whether ot not they aro suitable andidates for obs, Basically, anything we post can be used against us and rightly or wrongly, Serutinised and judged ‘The growing ssue of our intertwined home and wotk tives was thrown into the spotlight this wook after small-business owner sacked a Contractor who came out in support of the same-sex marriage “no” carmpatin Malin Sims, who rung a party entertainment company in Canberra, openly posted on er personal Facebook page: “Today I fred a staff member who made t public knowledge it The boundaries of our private and public lives are blurred move than ever (on social media) that they feel ‘it's OK to vote no!” Ms Sims went on to write that she let 0 of the staff member because “voting ho is homophobic” and as a business: owner having an employee who opposes her views “is bad for business”. Since Sunday, the post has ‘generated thousands of likes but has now been removed, Tvo gladly ticked the “yes” box for marriage equality,but Istill don't reckon Ms Sims had good reason to sack her employee for opposing her views, Not only is everyone entitled to their own opinion (because of freedom of speech) — it begs the question should a thoss even care or control what ‘someone says or does on their personal social media accounts when it comes to their own matters and thoughts? If, say, Ms Sims was totally against veganism and her employee was a vegan posting photos of animals being slaughtered (as vegans generally love to do), would it be reason to sack her? Understandably, if the staff member hhad targeted or bagged the business, that would be a different story. Bven though gay marriage is a ing you polarising, emotional topic, there is no correlation between this business, someone's personal thoughts on gay marriage and firing someone. ‘It was a similar situation last year, when nurses and midwives were warned by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia against posting “false or misleading” anti-vacelnation messages, including on social media, Ina tough new position statement by the board, nurses and midwives can now be investigated and punished if they preach against immunisation, ‘One nurse said she would take down anti-vaccination posts she had shared on her Facebook page — including wild claims that vaccines eaused autism and brain damage — so she wouldn't lose her job. In this particular case, it is more than fair enough that the board decided to take such a hard stance, because those anti-vaxxer statements have life-threatening consequences. However, the core principle of an employee being told by an employer what's OK to write or do on social ‘media is the same. And, this is what's scary. ‘The boundaries of our private and public lives are blurred more than ever before and there's not a lot we ean do about it. It raises the question, is it time to get off digital for good? Or, do ‘we just need to stop and think what we post before we post it? don't want someone telling me what todo, what to think or whether or not I can have that extra glass of red on Saturday night, Next minute, we'll be told it's still OK to breathe, What is certain, it seems Big Brother is always watching.