It is impossible to deny that social media has transformed into something far more serious than its original purpose. Originally used as an outlet to keep up with friends and post creative content, it has become a platform for marketing campaigns, political messaging, news, and so much more. It’s an integrated part of life, whether we like it or not.

However, in the last two weeks, the weightiness of social media has reached new heights. According to Reuters:

The Trump administration has rolled out a new questionnaire for U.S. visa applicants worldwide that asks for social media handles for the last five years and biographical information going back 15 years.

The new questions, part of an effort to tighten vetting of would-be visitors to the United States, was approved on May 23 by the Office of Management and Budget despite criticism from a range of education officials and academic groups during a public comment period.

Under the new procedures, consular officials can request all prior passport numbers, five years’ worth of social media handles, email addresses and phone numbers and 15 years of biographical information including addresses, employment and travel history.

Although this sounds like a joke, a quick look at page 2 of a U.S. visa application would prove otherwise.

In fact, Trump announced the addition to the visa application back in March, in his ‘Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security’:

Sec. 2.  Enhanced Vetting Protocols and Procedures for Visas and Other Immigration Benefits.  The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, as permitted by law, implement protocols and procedures as soon as practicable that in their judgment will enhance the screening and vetting of applications for visas and all other immigration benefits, so as to increase the safety and security of the American people.  These additional protocols and procedures should focus on: 

(a)  preventing the entry into the United States of foreign nationals who may aid, support, or commit violent, criminal, or terrorist acts; and

(b)  ensuring the proper collection of all information necessary to rigorously evaluate all grounds of inadmissibility or deportability, or grounds for the denial of other immigration benefits.

What should we take away from this? Social media, despite – at times – being an enjoyable waste of time, is not to be taken lightly. It is, more than anything else, a public network and the content we post should reflect this understanding.