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| She's back... Photo: auctionbytes.com |
After a long hiatus from blogging I asked my daughter if she thought I had to share the details of my absence. “F#*& no!” she replied elegantly. “Just because my generation documents everything about their personal and private lives doesn’t mean you have to.”
I
wondered, rather idly, if that were really true. It took about 30 seconds to
find a Pew Study (2010) that confirmed the symbiotic relationship between technology
and teens. “66% of all teens go online (really,
that’s all?) and of those who go online 66% are
content creators–meaning they create videos, post photos, write blogs and
message boards.” That’s an avalanche of content. But is it really inappropriate? Understandingteenagers.com
says it is. 32%
of teens report that they have regretted sharing personal details online.
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| Creating quality content for the next generation. Photo: bible-stories-library.com (really) |
Why are we more likely to share secrets online? In 1996 a researcher named John
Walthers dubbed the online communication experience as “hyperpersonal.” It means that people
are generally more likely to reveal more about themselves online than they do
in person, because of the lack of verbal cues--online you can’t see the look of horror on the recipient's face as you spew the details of your last hot date. It also may be linked to the illusion of anonymity, or the sense of privacy engendered by the solitary act of posting.
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| Ewww. TMI Dude. |
In fact, according to The Digital
Family (March 29, 2011) the lack of nonverbal feedback is contributing to more
impulsivity online. And it can
cause serious consequences. For
teens, up to 40% of inpatient mental hospital admissions are in some way related to
sexting, texting, tweeting, facebooking or otherwise engaging in damaging
cyber-communication.
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| Nostalgia? Art: skiddyrow.wordpress.com |
As our teens grow into adults and adults become more media fluent the
problem is likely to become worse before it gets better. New ways to embarrass ourselves are in
the works: Automatic tweets are
available for personal moments like weigh-ins, credit card purchases, household
functions and even live (deadly boring) streaming video of your life.
Who’s watching? (OK, I would watch your weigh-ins.) According
to a 2009 Harris Interactive survey, almost half of employers now screen job
candidates online. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can provide clues as to whether
potential candidates are party animals, love cats too much or have anger issues.
It shouldn’t
be surprising that Digital Age
estimates as many as 12% of adults are struggling with the same content regrets
that our teens are facing.
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| Will this tip off a potential employer? Photo: scenicreflections.com |
With this research and my daughter's advice in mind I just just want to
assure you all that I am not writing from prison, I have not been on an 8 month
bender and I am not being held prisoner by a disgruntled former student. Oh, and if you are a prospective
employer who is checking on me via social media, be assured that I am much more
attractive than my profile picture, and much smarter than I sound.
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| Just one more. Photo: Khonsa02.wordpress.com |
