EMPLOYEES have been warned to be careful what they write on social networking sites.

This comes after a teenager in Jersey was sacked after making negative comments about her boss and employers on Facebook.

Guernsey’s Data Protection Officer Peter Harris said islanders should be cautious when posting comments and information.

‘Young people are putting interesting pictures up of themselves, and then wondering why they don’t get a job.

‘People have to be very careful, especially given the shortage of jobs at the moment,’ said Dr Harris.

He said potential employees might be confronted with information or pictures at a later stage.

But he expected the current phenomenon surrounding social networking sites to eventually settle down.

‘In five years’ time, if you haven’t got embarrassing photos of yourself on there you will be considered a nerd.’

He said many current employers did not use or understand the sites.

But in 30 years’ time, when today’s younger generation were bosses, they would.

He said users of social network services should consider carefully which personal data – if any – they published in an online profile.