Post #6: Social Media's Impact on Teenage Students Private High School Admissions

The focus of my research project is to determine how students' social media accounts/online presence impacts New Jersey independent high school admissions.  Adults and teachers often remind high school and college aged students to be aware of what they post online, focusing digital citizenship lessons on a digital footprint and the understanding that what is posted online never really goes away. According to the Associated Press's video below, "Social Media Footprint Leaves Impact on Students," posted in 2015, approximately 35% of college admissions officers check an applicant's social media prior to making an admissions decision, which has risen from 10% since 2008.  

Since then, social media has only become more prevalent and available for people of all ages.  While most social media sites have policies that state a user must be at least 13 years old, many children begin signing up for accounts much earlier.  A study "Number of child, teen, and young adult Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat users in the United States as of August 2017 (in millions)" published through Statistica reported that there are approximately 41.1 million users aged 0-11, 27.7 million users aged 12-17, and 41.4 million users aged 18-24 registered with accounts on either Facebook, Instagram, and/or Snapchat.  

The video below discusses the impact of social media on college admissions and how schools are watching students' social media, but what about elementary and middle school aged students? 

Colleges and employers may review an applicant's social media prior to making admissions or hiring decisions, but do private high schools?  My questionnaire has been sent to approximately 40 private high schools in New Jersey and 40 private high schools in New York, asking whether or not they review an applicant's social media/online presence as part of their admissions process.  If so, questions explore the level of influence this has on the application and if not, questions ask why schools are not examining social media.