BE CAREFUL on social networks

[Chico David]

There was another recent posting - thread now closed - by a nurse who got in trouble over a Facebook posting. I have some direct experience with this - as a union steward - and a fair amount of second hand knowledge. Here are a few basic things to keep in mind:

1. Your Facebook "friends" may very well not be your actual friends - in every case that I've dealt with, management became aware of the offending posting when a "friend" of the poster brought it to their attention. And your privacy settings are no protection.

2. You do not have rights of "free speech" related to your work - the First Amendment protects you against the government intruding on your free speech rights - it says nothing about your employer.

3. If you are not covered by a union contract, in most parts of the US you are an at will employee and can be fired for any reason or no reason - except for a very small number of protected reasons like your age or race.

4. If you post something that would make anyone reading it think they might not get good care at your hospital, that would almost always be a legitimate reason for action against you. Here are a few real life examples: "We were so understaffed it was scary" or "If another person comes into the ER just to get narcs, I might punch them out" or "I got so frustrated with one patient I wanted to take her call light away".

Yeah, we've all had feelings like that, and we might say them to a real friend face to face - but posting them online for all to see - and, no matter what your privacy settings are, it really is for all to see - is just foolish. Save those rants for your truly private conversations.

One last note: Labor law does protect concerted activity. So if your union has a Facebook page and you were having a discussion there about how to improve staffing at your hospital, a negative comment on staffing in that context would likely be protected by law - but the exact same comment in the context of just a general rant likely would not be.

So, be careful, be smart, don't cause yourself unneeded trouble for silly reasons.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Source? No offense, but I often find people who are overly paranoid truly don't understand the privacy controls offered.

8 Facebook privacy flaps - Technology & Science - CBC News

Serious security flaw found in Facebook's privacy settings | News | TechRadar

The latest Facebook privacy flaw is a doozy

A New Drama That Highlighted Flaws In Facebook Privacy Settings- How To Avoid Being Trapped? - Technorati Technology

Facebook's Photo Privacy Settings Flawed…. A Safer Alternative Needed - State of Search

On the contrary, Facebook has a long history of having fundamental security flaws. Over the past couple of years alone, there have been several issues with the privacy settings, resulting in serious overhauls of the system and setup of the site itself that have been covered in the media. Flying in the face of these overhauls is the fact that some of these issues persist and new ones have cropped up, making the security/privacy battle an ongoing issue for Facebook.

Indeed, those issues are so deeply rooted in this particular social networking site that the military takes the time out of its day to warn its members about posting on social sites, calling out Facebook in particular, and even attempting to ban their members from using these sites in certain circles for reasons of security. It is an ongoing debate and mandated training in the service to this day.

[jtmarcy12, BSN, RN]

there was another recent posting - thread now closed - by a nurse who got in trouble over a facebook posting. I have some direct experience with this - as a union steward - and a fair amount of second hand knowledge. Here are a few basic things to keep in mind:

1. Your facebook "friends" may very well not be your actual friends - in every case that i've dealt with, management became aware of the offending posting when a "friend" of the poster brought it to their attention. And your privacy settings are no protection.

2. You do not have rights of "free speech" related to your work - the first amendment protects you against the government intruding on your free speech rights - it says nothing about your employer.

3. If you are not covered by a union contract, in most parts of the us you are an at will employee and can be fired for any reason or no reason - except for a very small number of protected reasons like your age or race.

4. If you post something that would make anyone reading it think they might not get good care at your hospital, that would almost always be a legitimate reason for action against you. Here are a few real life examples: "we were so understaffed it was scary" or "if another person comes into the er just to get narcs, i might punch them out" or "i got so frustrated with one patient i wanted to take her call light away".

Yeah, we've all had feelings like that, and we might say them to a real friend face to face - but posting them online for all to see - and, no matter what your privacy settings are, it really is for all to see - is just foolish. Save those rants for your truly private conversations.

One last note: Labor law does protect concerted activity. So if your union has a facebook page and you were having a discussion there about how to improve staffing at your hospital, a negative comment on staffing in that context would likely be protected by law - but the exact same comment in the context of just a general rant likely would not be.

So, be careful, be smart, don't cause yourself unneeded trouble for silly reasons.

excellent information!!!

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I don't understand either why some are so trusting of friends or family. They are often just as trustworthy as coworkers and when those friendships/relationships go bad they can go realllly bad..... Don't post, speak, share anything, with anyone you wouldn't tell everyone. That is another aspect of the privacy settings. Even if they are secure, who is to say that Aunt Alice, your husband or best friend won't rat you out for a dollar or after a break up......?.

[BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN]

What I don't understand is why people think anyone even cares about most of what they post. Everyone is so bloody self absorbed it's laughable; facebook in particular offers an unbelievable about of naval gazing, and represents the ultimate narcissism IMO. Why would anyone risk their job just to talk about themselves and the mundane aspects of their lives? It isn't as though most of these people are curing cancer or landing a mission on mars. They are sharing their bowel movements and trips to the grocer for dog's sake. The best is are the posed photos of themselves! It's got to be a personality disorder.

I don't have a facebook, twiter, myplace or linked-in. I do have a phone, and people actually call me when they want to tell me something worth sharing, and vice versa. Likewise, I still write and send actual mail, as in via the USPS, with paper and ink, stamps and everything. Oddly, I have never had a conflict at work related to a letter I wrote to my mother. Go figure.

[blackvans1234]

I post everything on myspace.

No risk there considering nobody uses myspace anymore

[FlorenceNtheMachine]

I post everything on myspace.

No risk there considering nobody uses myspace anymore

Hilarious! I think my husband was the last person to still have a MySpace. He tells me how great it was to this day.

By the way, privacy settings are not as air tight as you think. How is the world can you possibly guarantee that a friend of a friend won't show a comment to another friend. It can happen. All it takes it handing your phone to someone else and say check out what blah said about work.

I don't talk about work ever,I use it to keep in touch with distant relatives and faraway friends I wouldn't normally have the opportunity.

[benegesserit]

These are the reasons I do not have a facebook account at all. Never have never will. I don't like the fact that everyone and their brother can see and read about you. No matter what people say about oh you can set up your facebook a certain way blah blah blah. I could never trust that my pics, or words were not being read and seen by people that I would not want them to see or know. Talk about letting the whole world in on your private life. One little computer glitch, and your whole world could be seen and read by the whole world. No thank-you.

You do realize that, while you don't have 100% control over what FB does with their security settings, you do have 100% control over what you choose to post?

Things you will learn from my FB: I have kids. I let the toddler "do the dishes" but don't let her drink wine. I support marriage and Boy Scout equality (and if I get fired over that, I'd rather work somewhere else). I have been known to put sweaters on baby goats. I have a humanitarian view towards people without insurance (theoretical people, not specific individuals). My family and our pets have been published in some combination in 3 totally separate widely distributed magazines in the past few years. I make fun of taxidermy and formally published bad grammar and spelling. I get upset when people drive through my backyard fence into my husband's workshop. I once made a zucchini frappaccino.

In other words - I can be totally myself and keep family and friends updated without posting anything that would reasonably risk my job (except for a handful of causes I feel strongly enough about to take that risk).

Because he couldn't become a patient again? Dear Heavens..

Not that I'm advocating friending patients (or former patients)... but it brings up the question - what do people who live in areas with limited medical facilities do? More than one of my local FB friends has sought treatment at the local hospital (which doesn't happen to be where I work, but could easily be at some point).

Even during my clinicals, in a large metropolitan area, one of the patients (not mine) in one of my rotations was my son's classmate. It happens.

Presumably, during future admissions, you would handle the person who friended the former patient the same as you would someone who just happened to be friends with the patient from another context.

[krenee]

I got in trouble at work over a facebook post. And yes, my page is very private, and yes it was a co-worker "friend" who ratted me out (she's now BLOCKED on my facebook). My post was referencing something I was really ticked at my manager about, and it was VERY vague - didn't say my manager, didn't even say work, and could have been interpreted a million ways, so I don't think they could have fired me if they had pursued it. However - lesson learned, and my relationship with my manager will never be the same. It's sad we have to censor ourselves so carefully in this lawsuit-happy age. Anyway - I never heeded the warnings because "my page is private". Lesson learned the hard way!

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

There are programs that can get around privacy features . And there are glitches with Facebook security. Don't be fooled or lulled into a false security.