Comment by Terretta

16 hours ago

> I've never actually heard of anyone being declined for not having social media

In late June 2025, the US announced that for inbound students from abroad it will be screening socials, and lack of an unlocked social footprint may be a disqualifier.

This brings the gov in line with private industry, as employers that do actual background checks (as opposed to, say, credit checks) are shown flags if socials are all locked or none exist.

This matters most in industries which are required by their regulators to do and/or maintain backgrounds.

Oh my.

I'm not sure why that would be suspicious. If I were planning nefarious stuff, it's not like it would be hard for me to make have a social media presence to fly under the radar.