New technology comes and goes on what feels like a daily basis. Every morning we wake up to a new app, new device or new update to learn and explore. For those of us studying the digital future and passionate about technology, this is great. There's always something to look at, read about or discuss with fellow classmates and co-workers. We get wrapped up in conversations of ethics or in our own speculation of what will and won't go viral but there's an elephant in the room that we never talk about. Warning signs keep popping up and as professionals, scholars, students and adults, we ignore them over and over again.
On December 13, 2019, Sloane Ryan, the head of a special projects team devoted to child safety, posted an article titled I’m a 37-Year-Old Mom & I Spent Seven Days Online as an 11-Year-Old Girl. Here’s What I Learned. The article followed one "11-year-old girl" as she encountered the darkest parts of social media. Immediately, the article went viral. Parents, siblings and concerned adults shared the post on their Facebook pages pairing it with long rants about their own experiences and concerns. For a week or so, I saw the article posted over and over again but just like most things on Facebook, the excitement and outrage dwindled. If you have yet to read this article, I caution you, it's graphic. I counter that caution by saying that I hope you still will because it really does place a spotlight on the "elephant in the room."
As a 21-year-old college student, I do not have children of my own. What I do have though, is 10+ years of nanny and babysitting experience. As an only child, those kids are the closest thing I'll ever have to siblings and while they may not be my own, I am terrified all the same. I've seen the viral TikTok videos, the explicit snapchats and fake instagram accounts and all I can think is THANK GOD I just narrowly missed this generation myself.
According to an article published by Inside Higher Ed, as of April 2018, 68% of colleges and universities said that it is "fair game" to use an applicant's social media postings to determine whether or not they should be admitted. According to a CareerBuilder article also published in 2018, more than half of employers have found content on social media that caused them not to hire a potential candidate. The article also states that 70% of employees use candidate's social media accounts as preliminary screening. Imagine how these numbers rise each year.
Take a moment and think back to your middle school years. What if every dumb comment, rude outburst or peer-pressured action was recorded and chronicled for the world to find. Would you really want your boss or even your parent reading through those thoughts? Would you really want those pictures and videos to determine whether or not you get into college? Welcome to reality for our younger friends, children and siblings. As we read about and attempt to understand a new found world of TikTok dances and VSCO girls, the younger generation is living it. It's their young faces going viral and their bodies being exploited.
How do we mentor and prepare this vulnerable population when it's something new every day? How do we keep track of their actions when many of them are truly untraceable? For a marketing-minded individual, this constant growth is exciting. Everyone wants to create the greatest new app but what if we just slowed down? What if we took two minutes and asked, "What could go wrong here?"
It's time we stand hand-in-hand with our younger friends. It's time we show them the true power of the internet and of social media. Ranting on your Facebook wall isn't going to do anything. Take action. Sit down with your kids, siblings and friends. Start the conversations that no one wants to have. Be aware of the videos and posts you share. We are past the point of sugar-coating, this is life or death for our kids, whether they belong to us or not, they are ours. There is no grace period, all it takes is one post, one picture, or one video to stain a young reputation.
If this concerns you even half as much as it concerns me, let me know. Leave a comment below or message me personally. Let's get this conversation started so we can save the next generation before it's too late.