"It used to be that kids would make mistakes, and it was local and singular and everyone knew it was part of growing up," said Catherine Davis, a PTA co-president in Westport, Connecticut, who had a frank talk with her two sons after several students' nude self-portraits recently spread through the wealthy New York City bedroom community.the internet has made the boogyman of teens everywhere, the "permanent record," into a reality. the stupid fuckups of youth can now follow someone around for the rest of their lives, thanks to search engines and internet archives.
"Now a stupid adolescent mistake can take on major implications and go on their record for the rest of their lives," she added.
as amusing as this is to me, after giving it some thought, i think it kinda sucks. we ALL have some stupid shit we did when we were teens that im sure we're very glad has faded into obscurity and now exists only in our memories... which is where they belong. in theory, we learned from those escapades, and have matured and moved past them. it really isnt fair for them to continue to dog us for the rest of our adult lives, is it?
in fact, i think its worse than unfair (which doesnt count for shit as far as the universe goes... its an unfair place after all)... i think it can be actively damaging. at some point ive got to believe that someone who might otherwise grow up and become a normal productive adult will just go "fuck it. why bother?" after having their past crop up at inopportune moments (like job interviews) enough times. i mean, how frustrating would it be to work hard at bettering yourself when you constantly find yourself having to overcome that shit?
dont get me wrong, im all about accountability... but i also think that inconsequential shit like being stupid and mailing a picture of your dick to your girlfriend when youre a dumbass kid should eventually drift off into the depths of the past.
oh well, nothing to be done about it. the world has changed, and it is what it is. but i do think this is one aspect of the internet that kind of sucks.
(and as an aside, id love to know where the fuck all the slutty nekkid-cellphone-photo-sending chicks were when i was in high school? not in the AP classes, i guess...)