Advancing your Career with Social Media: Ethics and privacy

Social networking creates a persistent need to be aware that information shared online may not be appropriate for all audiences.  Be sensitive to how it may be interpreted by those outside of your profession or discipline.

Privacy in social networking sites is dependent on the users to self-monitor.  Privacy controls should be set in individual accounts and there is an inherent trade-off between privacy and the desire to share information.

Professional networks should be subject to authentication of content in the same way that other media platforms should be.  Sharing information solely for the purpose of painting others in a bad light should be avoided and is considered to be unethical.

Know your purpose in creating a social media presence and use it responsibly.

Promoting and discussing research results on social media will have the same privacy requirements that publishing and presenting in conventional forums do. The fast pace of communications may make it easier to forget to monitor these concerns.  Many professions have policies that guide the use of social media by practitioners. This paper reviews some issues for social media use by those in the healthcare field.