Abstract

Posting inappropriate content on social media sites has long been a common practice for college students. While such behavior may be viewed as innocuous by students and their peers, it is often viewed negatively by potential employers. When uncovered through cybervetting, this inappropriate posting can be seen as a serious faux pas – even leading to negative employment decisions. Given the potential negative outcomes, researchers have investigated Faux Pas Posting in order to better understand the behavior and its antecedents. To date, much of this research has employed the Big Five to examine the relationship between personality and the decision to post inappropriate content. Unfortunately, the results from this research have been mixed, with no clear model to explain Faux Pas Posting. In order to move the research forward, this paper draws on extant literature to identify potential factors impacting Faux Pas Posting beyond the Big Five. Specifically, the paper examines Need for Popularity and Self-promotion as possible antecedents. The paper also examines the role that friend posting behavior has in inappropriate posting. Finally, the paper proposes a model of Faux Pas Posting and discusses how the model can be validated through a field study

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