Over the past week, two friends of mine gave birth (congrats again!) And within 48 hours of said births, they posted pics of the newborn babies online. This is great because otherwise I would have to wait until the next time I'm in So-Cal to see their precious little faces. However, I'm curious about the effect this social media family photo legacy will have on the kids of Generation Y (and Z?)
How are kids going to feel about being exhibited by their parents online (because they were just so cute) when they were taking a bubble bath at age two? I know, at thirty, I feel nostalgia for the pictures my mom still has hanging up in her house from my youth. But there was definitely a period of my life, let's say from tween to 20 where I absolutely hated them. I would avoid walking potential boyfriends down that hallway because I did NOT want them to see me at age eight with chickenpox or during my "fat" pre-teen phase.
What does the future hold for this next generation of kids who grow up "on" social media? Will Facebook simply become outdated and have to be dug up like an old family album in order to unlock its awkward pictorial secrets? Or will proud parents keep posting to Facebook even when their kids have their own accounts? I can see it now: moms and dads lovingly tagging their kids in "funny" family vacation photos while their too-cool-for-school/emo/goth/indie tweens furiously untag themselves, because "NO ONE can see those HIDEOUS pictures mom!"
On one hand, I feel bad for kids these days because there are so many inherent avenues to breed insecurity (and bullying) in our digital culture. But on the other hand, it's kind of nice to have a synchronous, hand-picked diary of your life at your fingertips. Major milestones, photographs, and even supporting words from your friends is sentimental and should make you feel good. But years down the line, are you going to be so stoked about it?
From my own experience, I think there are limitations. A few weeks ago I re-opened my Myspace account and was a bit shocked by what I found. Sure there were pictures of my trips to Europe and home that brought back great memories. But then there were comments from my exes, pics of me absolutely sloshed (that I never should have been tagged in!), and posts of me with friends I don't talk to anymore for good reasons. This brought up some strong emotions and I came to the realization that I'm not really happy that all of this is still documented in a quasi-public space online. You certainly can't change the past, but I had definitely blocked some things out (like my early 20's) and wish it wasn't all there waiting for me after I reset my password. What made it worse was knowing that these were things I posted and/or photos that I was ok with people tagging me in.
So I'm curious to see how the next generations are going to react to their Facebook-ography. Will they violate terms & conditions to assume a fake name so their parents can't tag them in nerdy shots? Will they look back on certain periods of their life and think wow-did I do that? Or will they embrace this online record compiled by family, friends, and a trendy social media platform?
No comments:
Post a Comment