Social media is a constantly evolving landscape of tools and functionality that affects the way that most of us live, learn and work. Regardless of how you currently use (or don't use) it, as a student and developing professional, you must understand how social media can impact on your learning, your future professional identity and your employability.

This collection of resources is designed to help you take as much control as possible of social media and your digital identity, and to find out how to use it to support your studies and improve your employability.

• How to use social media responsibly- How your personal use of social media relates to the University's rules and regulations; what is inappropriate, and the associated consequences (last updated Oct 2019)
• Staying safe online - your guide to IT security - Advice on avoiding identity theft and online fraud; staying safe and protecting your equipment and information. (last updated May 2016)
• Managing your digital footprint - Four ways to stop your social media past damaging your real-life future; simple steps to clean up and manage your social media identity (last updated Oct 2019)
• Using social media for learning - Make social media work for you and stand out from the crowd by identifying and harnessing opportunities (last updated Oct 2014)
• Using social media to enhance your employability - Outlining the ways in which social media can improve your employability and develop a satisfying career (last updated October 2014)

If you would like to contribute to developing these resources with your own ideas, examples and advice, or you have requests for ones you'd like to see developed, please get in touch with digitallearning@shu.ac.uk

There may be particular things you need to be aware of in your subject area, for example: Health professions will have particular guidance for how you should present yourself personally and professionally; in Media, social media is likely to be a vital tool to your success. Talk to your tutors to find out more.

Additional resources

• For free expert advice on online safety visit getsafeonline.org/
• For guidance on protecting your personal information visit the Information Commissioner's Office
• For finding useful and interesting way to use ICT and social media as a part of your studies, visit the shuTech blog