I was sitting in the Miami Airport with my boyfriend and his friend Cullen. We were impatiently waiting for our return flight to Pittsburgh (we had been wandering the airport like Tom Hanks in Terminal for almost 12 hours) after our week-long adventure on Royal Caribbean. I couldn't see the TV, but the CNN program came through loud and clear, even through the boisterous and constant interruption of flight announcements. I stopped my sudoku and listened closer as "Facebook" and "drunk college girls" came from the reporter's mouth. The three of us looked at each other and simultaneously got up, moving so we could watch the report.
Haven't heard about it? Read CNN's "Young women drink, party, post" by Elizabeth Cohen. Then CNN's Senior Producer, Medical News Jen Pihfer's breakdown of the situation on Paging Dr. Gupta's blog. While it may be slightly out of the realm of the diet, nutrition, fitness gamut that makes up Jen's Daily Serving, I felt this story was too important. Pihfer's right; some of the reasons that made the list are pretty laughable (#8-a random kid who you know from your math class you suddenly "LOVE"or are "BEST FRIENDS" with), but as soon as you scroll down to the pictures, that's where the fun stops. Girls locked in dog cages, throwing up in the middle of streets, falling over in the midst of a group of friends.
I am a senior at Ohio University (yes, the same OU that ranked #2 in party schools a few years ago and that gets its 15 minutes of fame from its infamous Halloween celebration), so I can say that I've had my share of college-life fun. I am on Facebook, and I know that at one time or another there was probably a picture posted of me that I wouldn't write home to mom about. But I also know that this social network that allows you to poke your crushes and write on your best friend's wall can be destructive and detrimental to a person's reputation. (Anyone remember Northwestern University's soccer team that was suspended after pictures surfaced of supposed hazing and underage drinking?)
This story has generated tons of feedback, making it obvious that these young women are not naive or ignorant to what they did--they're proud. They love the attention and see nothing wrong with the group, the pictures, any of it. They're shouting loud and clear that they have no concern that if and when they try to become successful working women, these pictures will come back to haunt them. Maybe they're just too young. Maybe they don't plan on being successful. Either way, they fail to see what this will do long-term.
We need to get the younger generations (and I'll admit my own) back on track. There's nothing wrong with showing off your achievements on Facebook, but what happened to being proud of achievements in academics or athletics--not making a drunk ass out of yourself?
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