Social media can affect how the public views someone, and that “public” includes employers and colleges.

This was the lesson presented to Washington High School students Monday morning, as the school held two assemblies with a presentation on social media by East Carolina University marketing professor Dr. Tracy Tuten.

Bright Futures Beaufort County, in partnering with First South Bank and TriCounty Telecom, set up the assemblies in an effort to inform students on how to best create a positive social media presence.

“Not only can it affect you, it can affect your family,” Tuten said during the presentation. “You have to be very careful about what you post.”

Tuten showed a slideshow of examples of how social media activity can reflect on who one is as a person, including quiz results posted online, friends and followers and pages liked on Facebook.

She said prospective employers and even colleges will look at a person’s social media accounts to get more information about him or her and determine whether the person would be a good asset to a company or school.

“Part of your reputation is the company that you keep,” Tuten said, and that applies to an online presence as well.

Ben McKeithan, a junior at Washington High, said he didn’t realize the extent to which social media activity can affect a person, even pictures where one is tagged or posts one likes.

“It’s weird how everything stays with you,” he said. “I definitely will take them more seriously.”

Seniors Style McKissick and Destiny Clark said they both think it was a good idea to bring Dr. Tuten to the high school, especially for those students who don’t know the consequences attached to social media.

Clark said she thinks some of the underclassmen don’t know about how social media can affect them in the long run, even if employment and college seem to be a long way off.

McKissick said she was lucky that her family, especially her mom and sister, taught her what she should and should not post on social media.

“My mom really drilled it in us,” she said.

Junior Kelly Toppin said she has also heard similar messages before, but she still feels as though it can be utilized in everyday life.

“I’m aware of it because I’ve heard it before,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of the extent of it.”

Toppin said one part of the presentation that stood out was how a profile picture can change someone’s perspective. She said she related to that part because she sees disparities between her friends’ profile pictures, disparities that present either a positive or negative impression.

“I see stuff like that all the time,” she said. “It’s easy to be guilty of that.”

Dr. Tuten is expected to visit other Beaufort County schools, including Northside High School later this month — where Bright Futures is also hoping some local private schools and the Early College High School will attend the presentation — and Southside High School in February.

“They can all be the architect of their reputation if they use social media well,” Tuten said. “They are a brand.”

She also said, in agreement with Clark, some young people may not think much of what they post since they are just in high school, but they will soon be held accountable.

“They probably don’t think it matters,” Tuten said. “It’s not all that long before the stakes will be high.”

Ezekiel Fomville, a junior at Washington High, said Dr. Tuten’s presentation made him realize the importance of what one posts online, and he thinks he will now be able to apply it to his own life.

“That kind of made me open (my) eyes and realize,” he said.  “What you post matters.”