Online Social Networking and Its Pitfalls..

..and many there are. Used to be tabloids which laid bare all the sordid stuff. But these days, people themselves lay bare their closets for the world to see and read. Of course those cool 'sordid' details have not quite turned to skeleton yet, but we'll never know if some of the info they post now might one day turn out to be that skeleton. After all people make a lot of hoo-hahs even about Clinton's pot smoking days!

But discretion doesn't seem to be exercised in many cases. You can read all kinds stuff... from a guy who chronicled his drug habit, suicide online, videos of online gang rape, bedroom conquests.... it's just quite sickening. And many get caught up by this 15-minute of fame thing.

Many of our not so judicious young people put their private lives up for all to see - from their partying frenzy to private antics everywhere. I guess the future doesn't seem to feature much in their minds now cos it's kinda like going on a I want to enjoy my life the way I feel it and everyone else either just sing to my tune or don't at all. Somehow too, it feels to me like our Pendidikan Moral and Pendidikan Islam which are compulsory for all students for the years that they spend in school are not leaving an impact as hoped.

It's frightening how easily the young embrace such culture; with that kind of openness that announces their escapades, conquests and dares. And many of their friends embolden them by cheering them on. Folly at youth.... I'm beginning to understand better too what the Philosopher meant.

There seems to be a lack of netiquette education. What many of these young people seem to have failed to take note is digital information leaves trails. And these trails can be resurrected and embarrass us later in life. There are so many mirror sites that store the information. You think you've deleted one but if you dig long and hard enough, you might still find those things which you might want to be forgotten. There is a need to educate our young how much they can reveal about their personal lives to the world. More to safeguard their own future.

We used to do crazy stuff too in our youths... but the info on them was very localized and there weren't any trails, except in the memory of those who knew us well. But mostly, they get forgotten. Today FB and all the other social networking sites seems to do the job of keeping alive sordid details very well.

Youths need to be educated. Some sense of modesty still need to prevail here. Bare all for all to see... that's a dangerous thing to do.