Among young people between 25 and 34 years old in China, 14% were rejected for a job because of comments or pictures on their online/social media profiles, a survey by On Device Research, a mobile internet market research company, showed.
The percentage rose to 16% of Chinese youth between 16 and 24 years old.
Indian youth were next, with 7% of those aged 25-34 being rejected because of their online profiles and 10% of those aged 16-24.
Things were not a lot better in developed markets such as the US and UK, according to the study. It was carried out on 6,000 mobile users between the ages of 16 and 34 across China, India, Nigeria and Brazil – seen by On Device Research as key emerging markets – and in the US and the UK – chosen to help compare the situation in emerging markets with that in developed markets.
In the US, 7% of those aged 25-34 were rejected for a job because of their online profiles, and for 16-24 year-olds the percentage was 8%. In the UK, it was 6% for 25-34 year-olds and 9% for the 16-24 age bracket.
Young people in Nigeria seemed to suffer slightly less because of this, with 5% of young people between 25 and 34 reporting they were rejected because of their social media profiles; the percentage increased to 8% for those aged 16 to 24.
The survey showed Brazilian youth as the least affected by the problem. Of 25-34 year-old Brazilians surveyed, 5% reported being rejected; the percentage fell to 4% among those aged 16-24.
"I think it's becoming standard to look at social media profiles when you're screening people for jobs. A lot of people don't really protect their Facebook or social media account," Sarah Quinn, marketing manager at On Device Research, said.
"The awareness in developed markets is slightly higher; they might be a bit savvier, they're a little bit more aware that it might be tougher for them to get a job," Quinn added.
The survey also measured confidence levels among young people in the six countries, based on questions such as current and future perceptions of employment prospects and of the economy overall.
Young people in Nigeria, China, India and Brazil showed much higher levels of confidence than those in the US and UK.
"What we found is that the young people in emerging markets were a lot more positive about their future prospects and that's what is fueling their confidence. It's all about their future outlook. They have such a positive outlook compared with those in developed markets," Quinn told Emerging Markets.
"They've seen their countries change. They feel things can only get better, their future can only get better, whereas in developed markets there seems to be a bit of doom and gloom, they feel that they're going to struggle."
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