Facebook: Should I Just Give in and Join?

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Ok, so I feel like I might be one of the last under-30-year-olds on earth without a Facebook account.

I've mainly resisted because I'm just a very private person, but lately I've been reconsidering. I'm starting an RN program in the fall; at orientation they had students who had just finished their first year come talk to us and all seemed to be very enthusiastic about how useful the class Facebook page was. Also, as an introvert I've never been great in the friend-making department and if I'm being totally, pathetically honest I guess I'm afraid of feeling sort of generally left out as well.

I guess what I'm asking is:

1) Do you feel like connecting with classmates on Facebook was genuinely helpful to you as a nursing student?

and

2) Is it true that employers look at Facebook when hiring? I'd never post drunken photos or friend patients or anything stupid like that, but would not having a Facebook page be some sort of a red flag?

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

I stopped using facebook for the past 5 years, however since I just applied to my ADN program I decided to open a new account strictly for nurse/adn program networking. Im going on 2 days now with new account and will only add "friends" that will pertain to nursing or getting ahead in the nursing world. I opted to not put pics of my kids husband etc on there and just make it about ME. The future nurse ME.

Omg I thought I was the only 20 something weirdo who doesn't have a Facebook :)

I'm glad to read why so many ppl in the nursing field don't think its helpful.

I'll keep my life as Facebook-free as long as I can.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

I had a FB account and discovered it to be a huge time sink, and killed it dead after a few months. I think the whole "friends" and "likes" thing is a bolster for egos that can't get enough validation for their lives in real life; who needs the opinion of 1500 "friends" s/he couldn't pick out of a lineup? And your grandmother, who you think would like the pictures and the wall and she might even be in FB...I can guarantee you she'd like a phone call and some prints in the mail (so she can carry them in her purse) a whole lot better.

Put your time into live people, face to face, in real time. And no, your employer would not see your abstention from FB as any sort of red flag. On the contrary, my clients are gratified when they don't find a potential consultant like me on it.

Being an immigrant it is my view that these firings are clearly not in line with the American ideal of "Freedom of Speech" and I guess that is a topic for another thread.

Freedom of speech is not the same as compulsory running one's mouth. It includes the freedom to hold your tongue if you wish. :) Perhaps more people should try that. I liked your post!

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