Dr. Phil interviewed drunken teen girls from Facebook or MySpace groups that post photos of falling down drunk young women. Dr. Phil was appropriately stern - but I was more struck by what Dr. Phil’s guests said. An employment counselor admonished the drunken teens that employers screen prospects on MySpace, Google and FacePage. A college recruiter said colleges do, too. Prospective landlords screen tenants online. Dr. Phil said what goes on the Internet stays on the Internet.
Dr. Phil is right. Here’s proof - 15 years ago the Internet was a toddler - about three years old. I was newly divorced, tired of seeking companionship in clubs and, well, you know. I registered online with a dating service - in Israel, of all places (I was in small town Illinois!) Cool, true story. I met my husband, Dan, through this service. Happy ending. But comments I sent to the service are still on the ‘Net. And do you know there’s a site that archives every Web site?
If you Google my name, you’ll find references back to the beginning of time about my work and Web sites I created - and I’m not a high-profile anyone. So what of these cocky girls? One said, “It isn’t meant to be serious and nothing anyone could say would make me stop.” Her mom sat in Dr. Phil’s audience, smirking. !
Here’s what they do not get. When these young women aren’t cute, clever, hip and 17 or 20, and there are bills to pay and a life to live and their kids are in school and someone comes up with a portrait of mommy hanging over a toilet or a video of her puking or lying naked in a pool of her own vomit, what does mommy say to the kids? How does she laugh off pixelated examples of incredibly poor judgment?
Those images aren’t going anywhere. They’re viral and they’ll likely spread. Women, we’ve struggled a long struggle to prove what we’re made of. We are moving into true equality and true empowerment. Is there anyway to head off this trend and mentor young women into sanity? Or am I just a nagging old fart?
And can I ask this again - where the hell are their parents?
