Teen Blogs and Future Embarrassment

Paul Saffo writes about the downside of having your adolescent writings archived for all time online:

[...] I pity teens today, for in a few decades their sophomoric musings will deliver a vast embarrassment utterly unknown to earlier generations. It is not that their words are any sillier than earlier generations; rather teens today have had the misfortune of being the first generation to record their thoughts in cyberspace where those thoughts will remain perfectly preserved until some wag drags them out at a school reunion or the author’s children discover the IM affections that passed between mom and dad.

[...] the biggest favor you can do for a teen today is to remind them of what is ahead and gently suggest that perhaps they should record their thoughts the old-fashioned way -- on paper. Buy them a Moleskine, or a ream of high sulfur paper that will decompose quickly.
Link: Saffo: journal.

Of course, not everyone agrees.  In the (much blogged about) article "Kids, the Internet, and the End of Privacy: The Greatest Generation Gap Since Rock and Roll," Emily Nussbaum explores this topic at length, and it's worth reading the whole thing.  An excerpt:

[...] we are in the sticky center of a vast psychological experiment, one that’s only just begun to show results. More young people are putting more personal information out in public than any older person ever would—and yet they seem mysteriously healthy and normal, save for an entirely different definition of privacy. From their perspective, it’s the extreme caution of the earlier generation that’s the narcissistic thing. Or, as Kitty put it to me, “Why not? What’s the worst that’s going to happen? Twenty years down the road, someone’s gonna find your picture? Just make sure it’s a great picture.” 

And after all, there is another way to look at this shift. Younger people, one could point out, are the only ones for whom it seems to have sunk in that the idea of a truly private life is already an illusion. Every street in New York has a surveillance camera. Each time you swipe your debit card at Duane Reade or use your MetroCard, that transaction is tracked. Your employer owns your e-mails. The NSA owns your phone calls. Your life is being lived in public whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.

Link: Kids, the Internet, and the End of Privacy (New York Magazine)

Comments

[Bob Calder]

People who look at teenagers have it wrong. They should gaze first in a mirror.

Adults who use commerce sites and give information brokers sensitive information have offered their buttocks to the WRONG people.

Adults justify their actions by saying it is necessary. At least kids aren't stupid enough to offer awards for criminal behavior. It may be ludicrous to let strangers see your tits or your opinion of your professor, but one should remember these kids aren't mature and shouldn't be expected to keep their oopinions to themselves. Offering access to your personal details on the other hand is abysmally stupid if you're an adult.