Ethics and Social Networks

An article by John M. Grohol, Psy.D titled Social Networks May Blur Professional Boundaries has got me thinking. Although it talks about psychologists and their "patients", the article's overtones are applicable to most, if not all, professional situations.

Taking a step back, about 2 years ago I discontinued my Facebook.com account for a few reasons. Reason #1: the Web site was consuming too much of my time... and reason #2: I had just started my Undergraduate Thesis Project as an authority figure in a class that teaches Self-Management skills to other undergraduates. Although I was an undergrad, and of the same age of everyone in the class, I needed to establish myself as a figure of authority while maintaining a professional learning environment. So I closed my Facebook account so my students couldn't find pictures of me hanging out with my friends on a Friday night.

Although it is very possible to make your profile "private" and deny "friend requests" from students, I thought it best to totally eliminate myself from the social network. That way, it's less awkward for the both of us.

My Picasa pictures are all G-rated; I don't mind anyone looking at pictures of me rock climbing or hiking, and I feel like this is a little different than social networking sites. However, some professionals may chose to keep their photo albums private.

This is not to say that Behavior Analysts should not be human; they should. I like to have fun, I like to go on adventures... but there's a difference between knowing that someone is ambitious and fun-loving, and actually seeing them engaging in degeneracy.

It's easier for a Doctor to deny a friend request from a "patient", but it's not so easy for a graduate student to deny one from an undergrad. With the closeness in age and social circles, it seems inevitable that each person will find out what the other person did last Friday night. Still, I think it's important to maintain this professional boundary, at least until the graduate student/undergraduate student has stopped supervising/teaching the undergraduate. But, like the article says, if it "may result in a violation of the client’s mental health care privacy" then it is our duty to refrain from any sort of casual relationships that may lead to problems down the road. There's a good chance that the "friendship" won't breach privacy, but it COULD, and that's why we should draw the line.