When I was growing up my family moved around a lot. My father was an accountant and he was constantly chasing a better paying job. Up until I was about thirteen it was pretty cool. Never living in the same place for more than a few years had its virtues. If ever you did anything that made you look like a complete and utter fool, it was ok. It wouldn't be long before you could have a fresh start in a new place with new people who knew absolutely nothing about you.
Incidentally, my father was often drawn to cities like Houston, Salt Lake City and Chicago, where it was not only a larger place but your anonymity was amplified by the sheer volume of people. Way back then the children-should-be-seen-not-heard doctrine pretty much ruled. In the event some kid forgot that, well . . . corporal punishment was employed as a reminder. Let it be said that I had a short memory and a sore ass to show for it. Times changed as I grew older and I think it's great that teachers aren't allowed to use corporal punishment anymore. And there's been a movement to foster kids' self esteem in the hopes that children will think better about themselves and what they can accomplish.
But, have these changes produced a generation that not only gives little thought to their own privacy but also gives little thought to anyone but themselves?
Incidentally, my father was often drawn to cities like Houston, Salt Lake City and Chicago, where it was not only a larger place but your anonymity was amplified by the sheer volume of people. Way back then the children-should-be-seen-not-heard doctrine pretty much ruled. In the event some kid forgot that, well . . . corporal punishment was employed as a reminder. Let it be said that I had a short memory and a sore ass to show for it. Times changed as I grew older and I think it's great that teachers aren't allowed to use corporal punishment anymore. And there's been a movement to foster kids' self esteem in the hopes that children will think better about themselves and what they can accomplish.
But, have these changes produced a generation that not only gives little thought to their own privacy but also gives little thought to anyone but themselves?
Evidently this may very well be the case. According to some researchers at San Diego State University, "Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors." You really don't have to look too far to discover this either. A short tour through any social website ( myspace, facebook ) will reveal that today's youth are in no short supply of desire to display and reveal as much as they possibly can about themselves.
On the one hand that's given rise to an endless supply of content for many new web start-ups from social networking sites to youtube. Without this content those websites would be nothing more than empty placeholders for stuff.
Television has certainly gained as well as evidenced by the rise in "reality TV" like Survivor and American Idol. Certainly, narcissism has turned out to be plenty fruitful for some. On the other hand having an inflated self-esteem has its drawbacks. If you're really not too concerned about what you'll say or do, it could have some negative impact. Perhaps I'm making a bit of a leap here suggesting that the social web, as a product of narcissistic users, has given rise to the abandonment of privacy by those same narcissistic users in pursuit of an outlet to express themselves in any way. It would almost appear we've taught people to express themselves because they're "special", but we haven't taught them about when to turn it off.
I came across this story today about a 16 year-old who decided to post to her myspace blog her feelings about a decision made by her high school administrative staff. I'm all for free speech without censorship. I'm exercising it right now. But, I'm also for using it in an appropriate manner. If you want to call someone a douchebag you should be able to do it . . . in the right setting and using some degree of forethought to the consequences of your actions. I would not use the term "douchebag" to refer to my boss because it would probably have a negative impact on my employment status. However, I have every right to do it and if I wanted to exercise that right I would. I encourage you to read the story and the comments that follow it. For what it's worth, I think the school administration is behaving like pre-schoolers who decided that if she won't play ball the way they would like her to, then they'll take their ball and go home.
This isn't the first time I've talked about this topic. In an earlier post I said this:
The Internet isn't just for narcissistic people suffering from over-inflated egos. Employers are using Google as well to look into job candidates. Were you hoping to get that prestigious job on Wall Street? If you're making videos of your teacher or filling your myspace page with pictures of yourself stripping at last night's kegger you might be out of luck. Stupid, sexy or drunk may get you laid, but it won't get you very many valuable career options. I imagine that anyone reading this would probably point their finger at me and say, "Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Or perhaps, they'd dispose of any diplomacy altogether and just call me a stinkin' hypocrite. I mean look at me? I have a blog where I unyieldingly allow these indispensable words of wisdom to flow freely with little regard as to who may want to read them. I post pictures as if they had any artistic value to the humanities. Hell, you could even call me a narcissist. I'd be ok with that.
Television has certainly gained as well as evidenced by the rise in "reality TV" like Survivor and American Idol. Certainly, narcissism has turned out to be plenty fruitful for some. On the other hand having an inflated self-esteem has its drawbacks. If you're really not too concerned about what you'll say or do, it could have some negative impact. Perhaps I'm making a bit of a leap here suggesting that the social web, as a product of narcissistic users, has given rise to the abandonment of privacy by those same narcissistic users in pursuit of an outlet to express themselves in any way. It would almost appear we've taught people to express themselves because they're "special", but we haven't taught them about when to turn it off.
I came across this story today about a 16 year-old who decided to post to her myspace blog her feelings about a decision made by her high school administrative staff. I'm all for free speech without censorship. I'm exercising it right now. But, I'm also for using it in an appropriate manner. If you want to call someone a douchebag you should be able to do it . . . in the right setting and using some degree of forethought to the consequences of your actions. I would not use the term "douchebag" to refer to my boss because it would probably have a negative impact on my employment status. However, I have every right to do it and if I wanted to exercise that right I would. I encourage you to read the story and the comments that follow it. For what it's worth, I think the school administration is behaving like pre-schoolers who decided that if she won't play ball the way they would like her to, then they'll take their ball and go home.
This isn't the first time I've talked about this topic. In an earlier post I said this:
Anything you do and give to the Internet ( regardless of how intelligent or well thought out it feels at the time ) is recorded and there forever for the whole world to see. I'm beginning to believe that there's a significant number of people who just don't seem to get it. And it worries me because it has the potential to really screw up someone's life.Take into consideration this guy who decided to post to youtube an invitation to shoot his teacher. Although some of his classmates would say he might be joking, I doubt that's going to save him. What's more, thanks to the wonderful entity that is Google, the fact that he did this as a minor will not matter. There is no such thing as sealed records on the Internet when it comes to something you do on a public website as a minor versus what you do as an adult. While perhaps not as severe as threatening your teacher's life it's fairly obvious that there are consequences to making fun of your teacher or showing how insane they can be via youtube as well. I'm not saying we need to tell our kids that they're not special. They are being raised in an environment ( thanks to the Internet ) where they can find anything and everything in a matter of seconds.
The Internet isn't just for narcissistic people suffering from over-inflated egos. Employers are using Google as well to look into job candidates. Were you hoping to get that prestigious job on Wall Street? If you're making videos of your teacher or filling your myspace page with pictures of yourself stripping at last night's kegger you might be out of luck. Stupid, sexy or drunk may get you laid, but it won't get you very many valuable career options. I imagine that anyone reading this would probably point their finger at me and say, "Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Or perhaps, they'd dispose of any diplomacy altogether and just call me a stinkin' hypocrite. I mean look at me? I have a blog where I unyieldingly allow these indispensable words of wisdom to flow freely with little regard as to who may want to read them. I post pictures as if they had any artistic value to the humanities. Hell, you could even call me a narcissist. I'd be ok with that.
Kids, teens, young adults do stupid things - I did stupid things - the difference today is that everytime you do something stupid, it's digitized and posted someplace. The really studip will post it themselves - the marginally stupid will encourage others to post it - and the clueless will just do stupid things in a public forum.