With social media's rise in popularity, people have both become less likely to censor themselves online, as well as using it as a resource to do "research" on other people. Although many of us are guilty of "Facebook Stalking" our peers and celebrities, we tend to get a bit more defensive upon finding out that other people use the same tactics to find out information on us.
When it comes to employers looking at what employees post, I don't see any problem with it. There is a reason why you have the ability to make your account private if you want, and by choosing to allow anyone on the internet to be able to view your profile, you have no right to complain when people are able to look at what ever you choose to put out there. It becomes a bit more tricky to tell right from wrong once you take into account the companies that add you in secret to be able to monitor you. That I don't agree with. If an employer wants to see my social media presence, they should either look at what is publicly available or add me using a profile that makes it clear as to who it is.
Although employers and companies can justify keeping the company image by monitoring their employees who are on their payroll, the same excuse does not cover school administrators of secondary schooling. From my perspective, school boards are trying to play parent to the children in their schools. If middle and high schoolers choose to post personal and/or obscene things online, it is their right. If something legally questionable comes up then it's a job for the police, not their teachers.
I honestly don't think employers should be creeping on anyone's social media. Now, that being said, I do agree with you. You can't be mad if you are knowingly posting some real shady stuff on the Internet for all the world to see. I personally have all my media set to private, you have to be my friend to see it. If employers are making fake profiles in order to sneak onto my page that's a REAL problem. That, I think, should be illegal.
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