This New York Times article about today’s “going out scene” in college is strangely revealing to me. Somehow, the universal American college pursuit of drink, sex, and more, reveals the issues for the rising adult generation.
Think about “..if you didn’t get a picture, it’s like it didn’t happen” and “ Now you have to spend, like, an hour untagging photos” in the context of hiding your Facebook profile from med school admissions officers; privacy issues inherent with pictures and automatic tagging, and photos driving social networks, including a billion dollars for Instagram.
“You could have this really amazing night, but if you didn’t get a picture, it’s like it didn’t happen,” said Ms. Parr, 22, a senior at Gettysburg, whose friends often order designer outfits from the Rent the Runway Web site because incessant documenting makes wearing anything more than twice taboo. “It’s crazy how much pictures consume our lives. Everyone knows how to pose and how to hold your arm and which way is most flattering, and everyone wants the picture taken with their phone.”
…
But no matter where the drinking is done, the morning after is often the same. Tracy O’Hara, 21, a Cornell senior, said: “I can’t imagine what it was like before Facebook when you could just spend the morning after a big night out recovering. Now you have to spend, like, an hour untagging photos. And then you read your texts and you’re like, ‘Oh, so that’s what I did last night.’ ” (It’s job-recruiting season, which means even most students who can drink legally untag every photo, she said.)
