Debummerfication

Encouraging Authenticity Through Attitude

Management

Amma Marfo

Dalton Institute on College Student Values

Saturday, February 2, 2013

DISCLAIMER TIME

Beware!

Background

The nature of social media has gone from being one to share triumphs and daily activities, to an increasingly negative landscape.

Social media wasn’t designed for this!

Facebook “dislike” button

How would you respond to this? Is the response different if it’s isolated v a “repeat offender”?

How Do You Respond?

Approaching the situation head-on

Hide or mute the post/comment/poster

Unfriending

Some Employ Perspective

States the intentions of the author

Others Actively Encourage Positivity

But Authenticity Means Realism

Operative word: “sometimes”

We’re Not Without Blame…

Why Is It So Easy to Be Negative Online?

What Are The Effects?

Multiple Effects of Too Much Negativity

How Do Others Feel?

Effects on the Social Media Job SearchThe top reasons that employers rejected candidates had to do with content found on their social media profiles, with the top 5 reasons being:

1. Lied about their qualifications (13 percent)

2. Demonstrated poor communications skills (11 percent)

3. Posted negative comments about a previous employer (11 percent)

4. Posted inappropriate photos/comments (11 percent each)

5. Made discriminatory comments (10 percent)

Effects on the Social Media Job Search

But Again, We’re Not Whitewashing!

The Tide Is Turning…

So How Can We Help?

The ARMS Model:

A- Act

R- Respond

M- Model

S- Show

A- We Can Act

Three considerations for doing “good work” from the Good Work Project:

1. Mission

2. Mirror Test, Personal Version

3. Mirror Test, Profession-wide

R- We Can Respond

Use social media to create a relationship!

Affirm and praise positive commentary

Study abroad acceptance

Inquire and offer to help when negative thoughts are expressed, especially as they pertain to the institution

Ed Cabellon, Bridgewater State

M- We Can Model

Use your own social media profile to authentically present yourself

If you allow students to “friend” or “follow” you, be honest about yourself, in both good times and bad- show them what constructively expressing a negative thought can look like

Mind the boundaries that must exist between students and staff!

S- We Can Show

Embrace an attitude that allows for vulnerability

Yes, we’re authority figures and role models, but we’re also people- students and colleagues should know that

The Benefit of Helping

“In its most transcendent expression, the invitation “can you help me?” is an invitation into the head and the hear when a person is most open to examination, expresses a need to change, and is willing to risk moving from old ways of being to a new level of perspective or ability.” (Komives)

We have a responsibility to offer help that achieves these initiatives, and move students to a place where they are ready to ask, or can accept the help.

Thanks so much!

marfoa@emmanuel.edu | Twitter: @ammamarfo

Questions?

References

Bregman, Peter (2012). “How to Respond to Negativity.” Retrieved 16 Nov 2012 from http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2012/09/how-to-respond-to-negativity.htmlCabellon, Ed. “Connecting with Students, One Tweet at a Time.” The Student Affairs Collaborative. Swift Kick, 30 Aug 2009. Web. 4 Oct 2012.Gardner, Howard. “Beyond markets and individuals: A focus on educational goals.”

Declining by Degree. Ed. Richard Hersh and John Merrow. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005. 97-112. Print.Komives, Susan. Foreword. Helping college students: Developing essential support

skills for student affairs practice. By Reynolds. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009. xi-xvi. Print.Lencioni, Patrick. The five temptations of a CEO. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2008.

Print.Medina, S. “University Compliments Pages Spread Kindness And Good Cheer” Huffington Post. 1 Dec 2012. Web. 26 Jan 2013.

References

Thompson, Justin. “Negativity gets you nowhere in a social media job search.” The Work Buzz, 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012 from http://

www.theworkbuzz.com/news/negativity-gets-you-nowhere-in-a-social- media-job-search/Walter, Ekaterina. “Your Facebook fans are hiding your posts at an alarming rate.”

FastCompany, 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012 from http://www.fastcompany.com/3001871/your-facebook-fans-are-hiding-your- posts-alarming-rate utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany

%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29What Should We Call Student Affairs [blog]. Tumblr, n.d. Retrieved 18 Nov 2012 from http://whatshouldwecallstudentaffairs.tumblr.comZarrella, Dan. “Data shows positivity works better than negativity in social media”.

Marketing with Mike. MikeVolpe.com, 22 Aug 2011. Web. 4 Sept 2012. Zetlin, Minda. “Listening to Complainers is bad for your brain.” Inc.com, 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012 from http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/listening-to-complainers-is-bad-for- your-brain.html?nav=pop