Social media is everywhere. Businesses use it, teenagers spend hours on it and even older generations are beginning to adopt the evolving phenomenon. As new social media platforms arise, the younger generations dive in, pick up the reigns and run with it.

SnapChat is one of the newest platforms and already the app has become the third most popular site for mobile photo uploads with teenagers as the primary users.

Facebook, Twitter and other platforms are becoming the single most important way a young person crafts their personal “brand.” Just recently I had the opportunity to speak to participants of the Cobb County Juvenile Court about the impact their social media presence has on other peoples’ perceptions.

We have heard stories of “social media gone wrong.” In Barrow County, a teacher was forced to resign after an anonymous person emailed the school district and complained about Facebook pictures of her holding alcoholic drinks. Even companies like KitchenAid have had detrimental social media mix-ups, like the accidental tweet about President Obama.

Even after KitchenAid acted quickly to delete the tweet, it was too late. It had already been picked up several times and the next step was damage control–posting apology tweets. But repercussions can be much worse.

Statistics show that 25% of school officials have looked up an applicant on Facebook or Google. Posting one bad status or one distasteful photo can cause you to lose your job and even damage your chances of going to the college of your dreams.

So, given all of this information what should you do next?

1. Think twice before you post it.
2. Protect yourself by updating your privacy settings. On Facebook, you have the option to hide tagged photos–pictures that other people have linked your name to.
3. Don’t share your password with friends. Sure, it’s funny when your friend hacks your page to tell everyone how much you love kittens but it’s not funny when an inappropriate post shows up on behalf of someone else.
4. Monitor your page. If you see a bad photo or wall post, delete it.
5. Always remember that you are guilty by association. In life, we surround ourselves by people who we respect. Do the same on your social networks.