Facebook Likes Could Potentially Make or Break You

"Be careful with what you post online" is a common phrase I hear from my parents, teachers, employers--basically all adults I encounter in my life. I think we hear this phrase extremely often in our world today, since social media is such a big influence in our lives. Seniors even change their names on Facebook so colleges can't find them (or so they think). But now, posting may not be the only thing that can determine your job or college; your likes can have a big impact as well.  

In a recent study, researchers used a computer model to see if they could read someones personality based on their Facebook likes. They had their test subjects fill out personality reports on themselves to test out the accuracy of the machines, and sure enough, the computers filed very accurate matches to a subject's personality. In addition to predicting one's personality, they could also predict the average life outcome of that person, like health or political views. Researchers argue that this could potentially be the future of recruitment for companies. 

I'm not sure how I feel about this new tactic for hiring processes. I agree that employers should be able to know a lot of information about the person they are potentially hiring, but I don't know if stalking them on Facebook is the right way to do that. If someone likes a lot of rap music, for example, does that  reflect a certain way on their personality or work ethic? I listen to songs with explicit lyrics, but that doesn't mean I swear all the time. I believe that the computer programs really work, if fed enough likes, to gauge a person's personality, but I still think face to face interviews and conversations are the way to go. People make mistakes all the time. I don't think one "like" should determine one's fate, and I don't think employers should judge potential employees based on their personal lives.