I'd Hire You, But You Didn't Friend Me

In these tough economic times, many of us are struggling to make ends meet. And some of us are out looking for new jobs. But how many of you would be willing to let your prospective employer snoop through your personal Facebook site? 

In a startling new trend of invading privacy, companies and government agencies are demanding full access to our lives in order to hire them. So, now to get a job you may get asked about work experience, have to give blood, promise away your first born, invite the whole company to snoop through your house, let them drive your car for a weekend getaway, and give them your passwords to all your social networking sites.

The ACLU has been warring with companies for firing employees for things they post online, but now in an effort to preempt the firing - they want unrestricted access to your online life! 

Those pictures of your cousin Bobby's wedding, you know the ones where you were stumbling around drunk? Those are reasons not to hire you! 

I think these companies want to intimidate people into not going online! Think about it, if the company you are applying to has dubious business practices, the last thing they want is for you to know about it! So, the best way is to make sure you avoid any source of information that would bring those practices into the light.

But isn't this like a form of coercion? After all, even if you voluntarily give a prospective employer access to your social networks, is it really voluntarily if you actually need the job? Where does freedom of speech fit in where the internet is concerned? According to the US Supreme Court, it's a gray area and isn't always entitled to the same protections as some speech and symbols are.

The last time in history that I can remember a group of people asking to invade every aspect of a persons life was the Nazi invasion of Europe. And anyone that disagreed with them were thrown into concentration camps and eliminated.

Sure that is an extreme example, but is it really so far fetched? How far removed are we from that? It's like they are policing everything you do, as if we live in China. Where did this trend come from anyway? Did someone refuse to friend their boss, and the guy decided if he can't see your Facebook page then, you couldn't work there?

Since the rise of social network sites, prospective employers have checked out the MySpace and Facebook sites of potential employees, but before you could make them private. With this new measure, there really is no point in privacy, because like that old lady who is constantly staring at you from her window - they need know every single aspect of your life!

You might as well invite them into your bedroom on your honeymoon, because it's the same thing. 

I say if any future employer asks to see your Facebook password, you should immediately ask for their house keys. If they want to snoop online for your dirty laundry, you should be allowed to snoop through the hampers for theirs.