peatsoc

occasional gradcafe lurker here, who started an account after reading this topic... I'll also play the online dating story game. My first semester of grad school (and first semester TA-ing), several of my undergraduate students found my okcupid profile. okcupid lets you see people who have recently viewed your profile - I had a sudden influx of 18-22 year olds living in the town in which my school is located. I didn't click through to any of their profiles, but recognized them all from their pictures. I deleted my profile immediately and haven't created one since (and am somewhat upset about this, as online dating really is a great way to meet new people). Needless to say, this created quite a few problems. I didn't have anything too scandalous on my profile, but it was (obviously) far more personal and less professional than my demeanor in the classroom. I felt like I lost some amount of authority as an instructor, as these students were clearly trying not to laugh during subsequent classes (and I have no idea how many students in the class they told). One of these students started sending me highly inappropriate emails, which I then had to report - it was a mess. ...bottom line, if you will be TA-ing or interacting with undergraduates, think very hard about whether you want to have an online dating profile - and if you choose to do so, be extremely careful about what you put on your profile. (Seriously, I had little beyond my sexual orientation/gender identity (which did out me as queer to these students - not something I was trying to hide, but something I would have preferred to share in a different way), age, favorite movies, things I like to do, etc. - but that still affected me very negatively)