Students attended an assembly this afternoon centered on the topic of controlling social media accounts to create a positive image of oneself. Speaker Josh Ochs conveyed a message of keeping accounts “light, bright and polite.”

Principal Amy Murphy said the purpose of the assembly was to teach students the importance of having polished social media accounts.

“[The assembly explained] what does your social media account–if somebody goes on and looks at your various social media accounts–what does that say about you,” Murphy said. “…The whole idea is not to not use social media, because social media is so much a part of what you guys do, but how do we use social media to create a positive image of who you are.”

Ochs said he aims to get students thinking about the consequences of posts on social media. He said he wants students to understand the widespread use of social media by universities and employers to determine who they select for certain positions.

“Everything that [students] do online can eventually be seen by colleges, employers their principal here at the school,” Ochs said. “We hope that they are using social media in a positive way. It’s good to be on social. Social is good to be active on, but make sure you know that everything you post will permanitize your image. Be smart before you post.”

Junior Megan Keller said she learned valuable information from the presentation during the assembly.

“It was a good assembly,” Keller said. “I feel like I learned a lot about how to keep my social media good.”

The assembly was a success, Murphy said, and she hopes students learned from the presentation and are able to take Ochs’ advice and put it into action.

“I think it was a combination of a serious topic, but he was cheesy enough and kind of laid back enough that I’m hoping that kids at least got one thing out of it,” Murphy said. “I hope they got some good tips.”