Time to Clean Up Your Profiles Kids: There's a New Social Media Stalker

My generation has been constantly drilled to watch what we post on social media sites, because the omnipresent "future employers" will see it.  Now we have a new concern: lending companies. More and more lending companies are beginning to evaluate the social media profiles of potential borrowers to determine their creditworthiness or identity. Things being considered:

• Did the applicant put the same job information on their loan application as they did on sites like LinkedIn?
• Have they shared on Facebook or Twitter that they've recently been let go?
• Have they received negative reviews on sites like eBay?
• Does your company get a lot of "likes" on Facebook, and are they responding to their customers?
• Is someone logging in from an expensive mobile phone like an iPhone, or from an Internet cafe?
• What is their network like?

All of these questions, and more, can determine if a borrower will get a loan or if their application will be rejected. Proponents say this method can help small businesses with a strong social presence, who may otherwise be rejected on numbers alone. Others argue it's an invasion of privacy, and lenders are overstepping their bounds.

While the thought of someone searching through my social media history is a little scary, I think lenders are within their rights to do this. Wouldn't you want to know as much about a person as possible before loaning them money? As students we should be prepared for extra scrutiny. Annual figures released by the Department of Education showed that one in ten students defaulted on their loans within the first two years, the highest since 1995. The past six years have shown growth in the number students defaulting on their loans, so it's safe to assume most lenders are getting more hesitant about lending to students. And even if students graduate debt free, chances are most will take out loans for their first car or house. 

I think it's time to start cleaning up our social media profiles, before it's too late.