https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/the-problem-with-teens-and-instagram-109530386647.html

After reading Danah Boyd’s article regarding “super publics” I was left truly reflecting just how public social media outlets like Instagram are. By simply having your profile on public literally anyone around the world can look at what you posts and get an insider look at your perceived life. Now I don’t see this as a necessarily scary or new idea but in regards to the affects it has on teenagers, I will simply say I’m glad I’m at least of legal drinking age now as these outlets become larger and larger. I say this because I was reading an article on yahoo parenting that discussed some of the issues teenagers have when they post to Instagram. In the article we presented with a 6th grade boy who posts a selfie of himself on Instagram with his fathers empty beer bottle. Now you may think this kid is just trying to be funny, he probably thought so too. However, it is in instances like these that people take no consideration for the potential consequences that may come.

In the article we find out that within minutes of posting the beer selfie, the boys parents demand he take down the picture. Now I am all for privacy do I do believe that these kids need some adult supervision online because they are not yet adults themselves. Also, had the boy not taken down the picture the consequences may have been severe and affecting not only the boy, but his parents. A simple post like this has the potential to get the boy detention, suspension, and maybe even expulsion. Worse would be a visit from child protection services. I remember when I was in high school and myspace was the preferred social media outlet. Some members of my high school soccer team had posted pictures to myspace of a house party they threw that had underage drinking. Because myspace was relatively new and it was just expected that young people used it, there was yet no regard to the implications/rules for posting and tagging. Needless to say you can expect where this story leads…. Many of the team were disqualified for that season and had further punishment by the school and parents.

When people post online, they are posting for the world to see. Quite literally they are posting not for themselves, but for others, for strangers, sometimes intentionally. With an ever growing desire to be popular or to fit in with standard norms of what is cool, the constant need for followers and likes has taken precedent over self privacy. It appears to me that some people are more concerned with having a growing fan base then they are the risk of stalkers or social/family/legal problems. I have had my photos on facebook create family drama because there are pictures of me at gay bars and much of my family lives in conservative South America. This has all led me to post much less and truly consider what I post before I do. I know of “super publics” and of the social rules and standards of social media. More importantly, we need to educate our youth of this.