We all know that person on Facebook or Instagram whose recent posts have you thinking to yourself, “That’s stupid!” or “Nobody cares!”
Here in the 21st century, the world of social media has become an overpowering force, consuming every free second of most people’s lives.
Whether it’s “Throwback Thursday,” “Flashback Friday” or “Selfie Sunday,” Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are just a few of the multiple social media sites that people use to post statuses and pictures of whatever they please.
The biggest question is why people feel the need to share every detail of their personal lives with the entire world.
It truly is a mystery why teenagers feel the need to blog about everything. Who cares that you’re happy it’s Friday or that you went shopping at Forever 21? We believe you; we don’t need to see photographic proof!
For those unaware of the definition of a “selfie,” Urban Dictionary tells us that it is “a picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking site.” Yes, there are people out there who spend time taking the perfect selfie or thinking long and hard about which hashtag would fit perfectly with the picture they are going to post.
People are not only obsessed with the pictures, but with the numbers, obsessing over the number of friends, followers and likes they have.
It is also likely that we can go onto Instagram or Facebook and find a picture of something illegal, whether it’s underage drinking or someone smoking a blunt.
An 18-year-old Oregon resident recently made the brilliant decision to brag about his drunk-driving incident on Facebook, posting his status as “Drivin drunk… classic 😉 but whoever’s vehicle i hit i am sorry :p (sic).” One of his Facebook “friends” reported him to the police and the young man was arrested the next day.
A 19-year-old University of Wisconsin lacrosse student did not realize that when he was accepting a friend request from a good-looking female, he was accepting the friend request of an undercover cop. When the student posted pictures of himself drinking a beer at a local bar, it was easy for the police to cite him for underage drinking.
Now before you go and think, “That won’t happen to me,” think about how many of your Facebook friends you actually know, not the ones you’ve said “hi” to at a party or a friend of a friend of a friend.
Bottom line is pause before you post. You do not know who is looking at your profile; it could be parents, college representatives, potential employers…or the police.
-COLETTE HAMWEY