When should I delete my Fbook?

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Hey!
I just submitted my application for Fall 2017. Should I just bite the bullet and delete my fbook now, or should I wait till I get secondaries back?
Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

Hey!
I just submitted my application for Fall 2017. Should I just bite the bullet and delete my fbook now, or should I wait till I get secondaries back?
Thanks!

Switch everything to private for friends only. Don't let anyone post on your wall. Get an alert when anyone tags you in a picture and don't allow yourself to be tagged in pictures. If you want to post some things public that you wouldn't be ashamed for adcoms to see, then you will at least have a few things there. (e.g. share a thoughtful newspaper story about a scientific advance or a picture of yourself at a poster presentation or an awards ceremony.)

 

[partypantss]

You ask as if this is a standard thing to do when you apply to medical school. As far as I know most people don't delete their FB just because they're applying to med schools. Seems like complete overkill. If you have stuff on there you're worried about just delete those things or just make your FB extra private. Since I doubt an adcom is on your friends list, if you make everything private to non friends you'll be fine.

 

[redferrari]

While I never deleted mine, I spent an entire afternoon cleaning it up. It's okay to have one and most people keep them when they apply and during medical school. But use your Facebook as a tool to express your maturity. Get pictures of the club or anywhere holding alcohol off, change where it says "Studies at School of Hard Knocks," and update your bio if you have anything on it. Also, delete old friends you know you are never going to see again. You don't want someone to look at your profile and see someone with a Rebel flag as their profile pic in your friends list. Finally, set everything to where only friends can see most of your stuff.

 

[JustAPhD]

not having a facebook will raise as many questions, if not more, then have a wholly sophmoric one

Really? I'm surprised not having a FB could actually work against you, as not everyone has social media. As an aside, how would any admissions committee know an applicant doesn't have a FB when perhaps the adcom just isn't able to find it (ex: applicant changed FB display name)?

 

[eteshoe]

Really no need to delete FB unless you're having real self-control issues w/ your time management. Clean up what you don't care for, check your privacy settings, etc.

 

[Spector1]

not having a facebook will raise as many questions, if not more, then have a wholly sophmoric one

I'm skeptical of that claim

 

[aldol16]

Really? I'm surprised not having a FB could actually work against you, as not everyone has social media. As an aside, how would any admissions committee know an applicant doesn't have a FB when perhaps the adcom just isn't able to find it (ex: applicant changed FB display name)?

People probably just make certain assumptions about you - it's by no means institutionalized but rather a personal thing. Since most people have some form of social media nowadays, whenever I meet someone who doesn't, it just makes me more cautious about meeting them and seeing what they're like as a person. Again, it's highly individual-dependent so I doubt that you'll get an answer that applies to every (or even most) adcom out there.

 

[Psai]

facebook is dumb get rid of it

 

[Espressso]

most if not all of my friends who applied last cycle didn't delete theirs and they had success. I don't plan to delete mine. What @LizzyM said is perfect. It's the tagged pictures I think that have the highest potential of disaster. So just make sure to untag yourself from any inappropriate pictures. I've been doing that since I signed up for FB years ago.

I do have a specific question though for the adcoms... What's the view on an applicant who tends to share political articles from time to time? ....asking for a friend..... @gyngyn @Goro @Catalystik @Med Ed

 

[Dr. Trenb]

If you don't have any "party animal" pictures on your FB then no need to delete. Make it as private OR deactivate your account until the storm passes over

 

[Espressso]

Odd, I consider any considerable amount of time on facebook a weak negative signal about character. Do you think Clint Eastwood checks out facebook on a regular basis? How about that annoying but attractive girl who can't hold a job and who has slept with half the lacrose team?

I mean having a profile on facebook doesn't tell you anything, but if you have 1500 friends...

Can't tell if your Eastwood reference was a joke or not, but if serious, no he doesn't check fb on a regular basis but that has nothing to do with his character, just the fact that he's like 70 ys old and a famous person.

 

[aldol16]

Odd, I consider any considerable amount of time on facebook a weak negative signal about character. Do you think Clint Eastwood checks out facebook on a regular basis? How about that annoying but attractive girl who can't hold a job and who has slept with half the lacrose team?

Having a FB does not equate to spending considerable amount of time on FB. Just like how saying I drink beer doesn't mean I'm an alcoholic.

 

[redferrari]

Having a FB does not equate to spending considerable amount of time on FB. Just like how saying I drink beer doesn't mean I'm an alcoholic.

You just summed up my Facebook philosophy. Horrible if its a habit, perfectly fine in moderation.

 

[LizzyM]

I have a few physician friends who use facebook very effectively to make "political" statements about issues they care deeply about (comments about the most recent events in Orlando being a case in point) and to share pictures of volunteer activities and so forth. It can be a force for good.

 

[Catalystik]

I do have a specific question though for the adcoms... What's the view on an applicant who tends to share political articles from time to time? @gyngyn @Goro @Catalystik @Med Ed

If the content might annoy someone with Public access, why not make it viewable to only Acquaintances and Friends? Each post can be set for a different audience.

 

[aalamruad]

not having a facebook will raise as many questions, if not more, then have a wholly sophmoric one

You've got to be kidding me.. You adcoms are always telling us to relax about the little stuff, and then you post comments like this saying that not having a Facebook could be cause for concern. Absurd, honestly.

 

[trs88]

Just lock everything down to friends only. Facebook is the way our class shares study aids and class materials.

 

[Lawpy]

not having a facebook will raise as many questions, if not more, then have a wholly sophmoric one

I'm skeptical of that claim

You've got to be kidding me.. You adcoms are always telling us to relax about the little stuff, and then you post comments like this saying that not having a Facebook could be cause for concern. Absurd, honestly.

Sarcasm font would help.

 

[aalamruad]

Sarcasm font would help.

Haha I'm skeptical that it was sarcasm, but I really hope it was, for the sake of gonnif's credibility

 

[Mansamusa]

You've got to be kidding me.. You adcoms are always telling us to relax about the little stuff, and then you post comments like this saying that not having a Facebook could be cause for concern. Absurd, honestly.

Something tells me that his comment was more on the facetious side...Adcoms won't even know if they simply can't find the fb page or if the applicant just doesn't have one, so it wouldn't be used to judge an applicant.

Facebook privacy settings are actually pretty good. It is easy to find a hidden profile page if you know the first name and school of a person, but it's easy to make it so that people can't see more than your profile pic

 

[aalamruad]

Something tells me that his comment was more on the facetious side...Adcoms won't even know if they simply can't find the fb page or if the applicant just doesn't have one, so it wouldn't be used to judge an applicant.

Facebook privacy settings are actually pretty good. It is easy to find a hidden profile page if you know the first name and school of a person, but it's easy to make it so that people can't see more than your profile pic

The fact that @aldol16 (who's a pretty smart and reasonable person) took the post seriously and defended gonnif's claim makes me think that it wasn't actually facetious, but again, I hope you're right

 

[Lawpy]

The fact that @aldol16 (who's a pretty smart and reasonable person) took the post seriously and defended gonnif's claim makes me think that it wasn't actually facetious, but again, I hope you're right

You mean these?

not having a facebook will raise as many questions, if not more, then have a wholly sophmoric one

People probably just make certain assumptions about you - it's by no means institutionalized but rather a personal thing. Since most people have some form of social media nowadays, whenever I meet someone who doesn't, it just makes me more cautious about meeting them and seeing what they're like as a person. Again, it's highly individual-dependent so I doubt that you'll get an answer that applies to every (or even most) adcom out there.

If admissions committee of a medical school consists entirely of preteens, teenagers, and young adults, not having a Facebook account could be a problem. Even then, it's highly individual-dependent, so I don't see a defense here.

 

[Psai]

Odd, I consider any considerable amount of time on facebook a weak negative signal about character. Do you think Clint Eastwood checks out facebook on a regular basis? How about that annoying but attractive girl who can't hold a job and who has slept with half the lacrose team?

I mean having a profile on facebook doesn't tell you anything, but if you have 1500 friends...

With all the celebrity deaths that's been happening I just kinda assumed eastwood was gone too but I was wrong

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

With all the celebrity deaths that's been happening I just kinda assumed eastwood was gone too but he's still kicking!

What's going to kill him? All those chill vibes? Endless piles of money? The sound of the waves in Carmel? The endless supply of women less than half his age?

Maybe going to those dumb NRA rallies? That's probably his worst health habit.

 

[kamakazi5]

The fact that @aldol16 (who's a pretty smart and reasonable person) took the post seriously and defended gonnif's claim makes me think that it wasn't actually facetious, but again, I hope you're right

Maybe he just worded it weirdly but I would think he is talking about deleting it just after applying to schools as if to try and hide their past/cover something up. I can't imagine anyone (outside of some younger people) would find anything odd with not having facebook.

 

[sanfran256]

I seriously doubt Adcoms have the time to look up applicants on Facebook. It also seems creepy!

 

[aldol16]

If admissions committee of a medical school consists entirely of preteens, teenagers, and young adults, not having a Facebook account could be a problem. Even then, it's highly individual-dependent, so I don't see a defense here.

I'd say there would be a difference between younger people reviewing an application and older people especially given the generational divide in technological savvy, so to speak. I mean, if I were reviewing someone's grad school application, I would at least check to see if they had a FB - if not, I wouldn't hold it against them but would be curious if they were antisocial which would be elucidated at interviews, visits, etc. But then again, many grad students tend to be antisocial anyway. But I also know older people who have iPhones but refuse to use it for any other purpose than for making and taking calls (no texting either!). There isn't any box a reviewer has to check off noting whether you have a FB or not but the biases I'm talking about are more subconscious and more prevalent in the younger generations than in the older ones. These biases start to matter when you notice that admissions can be a "gut feeling" game on whether to admit this qualified applicant or that one. But then again, that would be individual-specific.

 

[aldol16]

I seriously doubt Adcoms have the time to look up applicants on Facebook. It also seems creepy!

Well, I would argue (respectfully) that that's a naive view. I mean, people routinely assume that employers will look at your FB to see if you are a fit with the stated mission(s) of the company. I doubt that adcoms are seriously that much more busy than some hiring managers (no matter how much they think they are). I mean, if you're making an important decision that could affect the health of your children and grandchildren, wouldn't you do your due diligence in finding all the data there is on someone you think might be a good fit? This would probably be individual-specific as well since some adcoms may in fact be buried under piles of paperwork.

 

[Lawpy]

I'd say there would be a difference between younger people reviewing an application and older people especially given the generational divide in technological savvy, so to speak. I mean, if I were reviewing someone's grad school application, I would at least check to see if they had a FB - if not, I wouldn't hold it against them but would be curious if they were antisocial which would be elucidated at interviews, visits, etc. But then again, many grad students tend to be antisocial anyway. But I also know older people who have iPhones but refuse to use it for any other purpose than for making and taking calls (no texting either!). There isn't any box a reviewer has to check off noting whether you have a FB or not but the biases I'm talking about are more subconscious and more prevalent in the younger generations than in the older ones. These biases start to matter when you notice that admissions can be a "gut feeling" game on whether to admit this qualified applicant or that one. But then again, that would be individual-specific.

Well considering that admissions committee makes final decisions as a group, it's pretty evident that whatever subconscious feelings the younger members have regarding having social media account will be pretty minimal at best, since their feelings will be outweighed by apathy/opposition from the older members. But these younger members would have to be really young if they view that not having a social media account is a sign for being antisocial.

 

[raiderette]

I scrubbed my CV so I look like a bubbly Mother Teresa. Photos are from charity events, wholesome shots with friends and family. Likes are thoughtful and varied. Years of stalking sorority prospects taught me the value of a media footprint. Quit Twitter, fix privacy settings and don't let friends tag you.

 

[aldol16]

Well considering that admissions committee makes final decisions as a group, it's pretty evident that whatever subconscious feelings the younger members have regarding having social media account will be pretty minimal at best, since their feelings will be outweighed by apathy/opposition from the older members. But these younger members would have to be really young if they view that not having a social media account is a sign for being antisocial.

Depends on how young you're talking about and I did not say that if you don't have a FB, you're necessarily antisocial. I would only raise it as a possibility and complete an evaluation based on interviews and grad school visits. My peers (age bracket = 24-28) generally tend to view not having a FB as suspect but we don't assume anything unless we can verify it. So I wouldn't immediately say "antisocial." I would try to investigate further and try to assess the candidate's personality in other ways as well. I'm only familiar with how grad school admissions works so I can't speak for med school but like I said, there's no box to check off if the candidate doesn't have a FB. You just go off of gut feeling based off of the information you have on the person. The more information, the better I can assess that person before even meeting them. The less information I have, the more important is the first impression.

 

[Lawpy]

Depends on how young you're talking about and I did not say that if you don't have a FB, you're necessarily antisocial. I would only raise it as a possibility and complete an evaluation based on interviews and grad school visits. My peers (age bracket = 24-28) generally tend to view not having a FB as suspect but we don't assume anything unless we can verify it. So I wouldn't immediately say "antisocial." I would try to investigate further and try to assess the candidate's personality in other ways as well. I'm only familiar with how grad school admissions works so I can't speak for med school but like I said, there's no box to check off if the candidate doesn't have a FB. You just go off of gut feeling based off of the information you have on the person. The more information, the better I can assess that person before even meeting them. The less information I have, the more important is the first impression.

I didn't say that either. I just said it was a sign, so there could be many factors involved. And yes, I view the age bracket of 24-28 to be really young, so it's understandable that not having social media can be suspect. However, I just view that using social media as some sort of indicator to assess personality and sociability is basically unnecessary regardless of what type of admissions/hiring process we're talking about. To each their own I suppose.

 

[aldol16]

I didn't say that either. I just said it was a sign, so there could be many factors involved. And yes, I view the age bracket of 24-28 to be really young, so it's understandable that not having social media can be suspect. However, I just view that using social media as some sort of indicator to assess personality and sociability is basically unnecessary regardless of what type of admissions/hiring process we're talking about. To each their own I suppose.

I also agree that using it would be unnecessary but there are a lot of other things I believe to be unnecessary in evaluating applicants. It's hard to control for one's own biases in admissions and it's one of the reasons, I think, why it all appears to be so random. People want to admit people they like and people tend to like people who are like themselves. This is also why I think certain disparities exist in medicine.

 

[aalamruad]

Depends on how young you're talking about and I did not say that if you don't have a FB, you're necessarily antisocial. I would only raise it as a possibility and complete an evaluation based on interviews and grad school visits. My peers (age bracket = 24-28) generally tend to view not having a FB as suspect but we don't assume anything unless we can verify it. So I wouldn't immediately say "antisocial." I would try to investigate further and try to assess the candidate's personality in other ways as well. I'm only familiar with how grad school admissions works so I can't speak for med school but like I said, there's no box to check off if the candidate doesn't have a FB. You just go off of gut feeling based off of the information you have on the person. The more information, the better I can assess that person before even meeting them. The less information I have, the more important is the first impression.

Any minor suspicion that someone could feel regarding an applicant not having a social media account would become entirely negligible in comparison to an interview, where all speculation of their ability to socialize would be completely be replaced by an actual assessment.

 

[imax2011]

I deleted mine a long time ago. I suggest deleting not for the sake of medical school admission, but for the sake of your free time and attention.

Make sure it is fully deleted, not just deactivated because you'll end up back on it by habit and it'll keep getting reactivated

Nice to know I'm not the only one.

 

[aldol16]

Any minor suspicion that someone could feel regarding an applicant not having a social media account would become entirely negligible in comparison to an interview, where all speculation of their ability to socialize would be completely be replaced by an actual assessment.

Yes but it could inform the interviewer's expectations of that interview - again, subconsciously. This is speculative, of course, since my experience is not with MD admissions. However, if someone doesn't have much information about them online, the first impressions at the interview becomes much more important. I use the internet of an informal way of getting to know someone before actually meeting so that I can view them in the best light possible. The interview only gives you so much information. Employers do this all the time. If you have an Academia profile, set it so that it notifies you each time someone views your profile. It'll tell you the time, date, and location of the computer used to view your profile. Then go on job or med school interviews and see how many pings you get before your interview.

 

[Mad Jack]

You're probably going to need your FB for class. We shared just about every file we had, as well as study tips and class events on facebook. Set it to private and chill out.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I still have mine. Just be careful about what ends up being public.

 

[TheFutureFatMan]

I deleted mine at the beginning of my SMP, started a new one and just kept it squeaky clean. No one can tag me. I police what's on there and I eliminated the issue of sorting through friends from high school that have turned into stellar examples of what not to be. It was a nice new start.

Facebook has been useful in terms of class pages and a easy way to interact with a grad school class. Just make sure you treat it like a bulletin board. Everything on there is a free for all for anyone who's halfway intelligent. Assume that it will be seen, act accordingly. You'll be fine.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Technology]

It's so useless...


... Undergrad admissions would be so much more competitive without it - we'd all have 4.0's!

 

[aldol16]

It's so useless...


... Undergrad admissions would be so much more competitive without it - we'd all have 4.0's!

If you're in high school, it's really useless! You go to school and see your friends every day! Facebook becomes a lot more useful when you leave your undergrad years. In those years, you form many of your lifelong friendships and you'll want a way to keep in touch other than texting. Via Facebook, you can see what your friends have been up to and it's a convenient way to message people nowadays that AOL is no longer in widespread use.

 

[Med Ed]

I do have a specific question though for the adcoms... What's the view on an applicant who tends to share political articles from time to time? ....asking for a friend..... @gyngyn @Goro @Catalystik @Med Ed

Difficult to say without seeing some examples. One person's political article is another person's fringe lunatic rant. You may want to consider the lawyer test, which means imagining a hostile attorney reading excerpts of your online activity/postings aloud in court. Does the thought make you uncomfortable?

I once interviewed a faculty candidate who turned out to be a regular blog contributor to a political activism organization that had been identified as a hate group by the Souther Poverty Law Center. Didn't get the job, although there were plenty of other nails his this individual's coffin.

One of my favorite prospective medical students had a robust collection of AR-15's that were displayed on a public FB account. It wasn't just the guns; the rest of the decor could be categorized as goose-stepping panache. Without making any value judgements on firearms or interior decorating, this sort of thing strongly suggests poor decision making.

Poor decision-making is the broader theme with social media biting people in the gluteus maximus. It doesn't really matter that you have photos of yourself drunk and/or looking like a serial killer, it's the decision to attach them to your AMCAS application or lay them out for any internet user to find, that's the problem.