Keep Social Media Professional or Private

Social media can be a professional liability. Prior to hiring, employers may search potential employees’ Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Without updated privacy settings, entering a name into Google will display all active social media accounts. While hiring decisions cannot be made solely on what is found, it certainly can influence opinions. Once hired, employers can check these sites to monitor behavior, comments, and status updates at any time. To keep social media professional, here are a few helpful tips:

Think before you post. Social media posts are meant to be active, engaging, and non-offensive. Stay clear of foul language, discrimination, and comments that demean personal character.

Who will read the post? Before posting, determine if anyone reading the post will be offended personally or professionally. Also, social media posts are time stamped. This makes it easy to place where you were at the time of the post. Were you at work?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Posting inappropriate pictures can cause educational consequences, professional dismissal, or public shame. A photo posted online can be seen by millions.

Who will remember this? The internet is forever. Once something is posted online, it remains forever. If deleted from a particular site, the image, or comment, is still in cyber space and detectable if searched for properly.

Aside from professional social media forums, educational institutions have now included social media guidelines within their ethics policies. Indecent commentary or negative portrayal of an institution can result in expulsion or criminal charges.  Before posting online, check privacy settings. They can usually be found under account settings [privacy]. Since social media sites update regularly, account settings should also be checked periodically. The best advice for social media use is to keep everything professional, and if using social media to express every opinion, keep it private.

Don’t Let Peanut Allergies Stop the Fun

According to FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), researchers estimate that 15 million Americans have food allergies and one in every 13 children is affected. Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish are eight foods that account for 90 percent of allergic reactions.

Peanut allergies are on the rise, especially in children. They can result in difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, or fatal reactions. Peanut butter and peanut oil aren’t the only foods to avoid. Many ethnic foods, such as Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and Vietnamese contain traces of peanuts. Candy, especially chocolate, some cereals, granola, some veggie burgers, and many health food bars also contain peanuts. Caregivers and parents should be cautious since there is no proven way to prevent the allergy, just blood and skin tests to detect it.

Peanut allergies are typically diagnosed within the first two years, though they can develop at any age. The symptoms may include, but are not limited to, tingling of the mouth, hives, swelling of the tongue or throat, abdominal cramps, or vomiting and diarrhea. Anaphylaxis is the most serious. When this occurs, blood pressure drops quickly and the individual loses consciousness.

To help avoid allergic reactions, caregivers and parents should monitor children’s food closely. Be sure to carefully read food labels and teach children not to eat other’s cooking if the ingredients are unknown. Packing snacks and lunches for school may also help reduce the chances of children coming in contact with peanut stricken foods. In severe allergic cases, parents, caregiver, and teachers should be fully educated on how to administer an EpiPen. An EpiPen is a shot of epinephrine which reverses anaphylactic shock and helps control serious reactions.

Parents and caregivers should develop, and keep, a written plan with recommendations from their child’s health care provider that helps others recognize the symptoms of an allergic reaction, how to administer treatment, and who to contact in case of emergency. All allergies, including peanut, can be 100 percent controlled with monitored observation and attention.

Idea from: March of Dimes- Peanut Allergies