I can’t stop thinking about the recent death of Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, who killed himself after a roommate posted online a secret recording of him engaging in a sexual encounter. Two students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, are being charged with invasion of privacy.
Invasion of privacy has hit a new level it seems. The idea that two people could do something so cruel is beyond me. I cannot wrap my mind around it.
I cannot imagine how the parents of Tyler Clementi feel and what they are going through. To add to the matter, before he jumped off the George Washington Bridge, he posted on his Facebook page this haunting status, “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”
Thinking about the posting of his sexual encounter online and the fact that he would post his plans to commit suicide on his Facebook page made me think of one thing, it is as if we live in a glass house. Technology has done some amazing things for our world. Yet technology has also allowed others to take a closer look into our lives. With all of the social networks and the online capabilities, our lives can quickly become a glass house…everyone can see in. That is not necessarily a good thing.
Our teens live in a different world. I remember back in my time one of the worst things you had to deal with was a rumor being spread or a note about you being passed. Now teens are dealing with cyber-bullying and other cruel forms of punishment that reaches to a larger audience.
All of this has left me rethinking the good of technology. It definitely has its downsides and I am tired of hearing about young people ending their lives because it has ruined their lives. In my eyes, this was a form of bullying taken to a depth it should never go.
Yet I also realize this is an opportunity to sit down with my teens and have a frank discussion. The sad reality is that you never know who is watching. They need to be aware of this. So you need to guard everything you say and do. One slip, one mishap and it could be broadcast to the world. Suddenly your life becomes a glass house.