generals3 said:
I think you oversimplify things. Let's not also forget that technology has made it much easier to harm people or do stupid things. You can make a picture of yourself and share it with everyone with so much ease nowadays. In the past this wouldn't have happened because it would have been much harder to do it. You'd have to take the picture, than get it developed (and let's be honest, having to ask a guy to develop that nude pic of you would stop most kids who do such stupid things). And than for that guy to show it to everyone he'd have to either copy it or gather everyone and show it which takes already more efforts than clicking "attach file" and than select all the e-mail addresses and press "send".
And the fact many parents didn't grow up in this digital era also makes them less aware of the stupid things that can go totally wrong because technology makes it so much easier. I mean, i doubt my parents would ever think "my son may use that webcam to strip in front of others through the net and the person on the other side might than send that movie through". And as such parents will also be less likely to educate their children on the risks linked with this easiness to transfer data.
But yeah, there are a lot of wrongs in this story. But the culture is only one of those.
I think it has more to to with economics than simply culture. I think that just because it's now easier to do something stupid, and that parents might not know about it, doesn't really excuse them from teaching their kids the principles. I mean, my parents were born before "computer" was even a word, and they made sure that my sister never felt like she was being forced to do anything because of her peer group. She never felt that her worth was solely in her body, and she grew up in the era of the internet, webcams etc. She's now a successful attourney, and married with a kid. She doesn't have a scarred past because she, like all of us, was raised being taught that she's a human being and what matters is her intellegence, work ethic, and her character. When she was having a tough time in high school (she was kind of awkward), that kept her focused and sane.
The thing was, we had a TV in the house. We were all exposed to advertising and whatever, and we played video games with adult themes. But my parents were there to help me and my siblings to make sense of it all. They were responsible. The same thing can't be said of the parents of this girl, or a lot of other parents. Not that the parents are entirely to blame, I think that many don't know how to deal with all these new dangers and environmental changes. They feel out of touch and their kids shut them out. As a parent, however, if your kid gets to the point where they are attempting suicide, then you need to get that kid to therapy. Kicking and screaming if necessary. Parents need just as much education as kids do these days, and if you aren't prepared to be a responsible, caring, and firm parent, don't have kids.
Teenagers are not complex creatures, they are just trying to deal with new complexities in their lives. People think parenting has changed a lot, but really it hasn't. If you give your kid a good grounding in self-esteem, character, and work ethic, then they'll have something to hold onto in tough times. That has always been true, and continues to be true.
On a societal scale, we need to be more responsible with the way that we portray "ideal" men and women. It shouldn't be about one set of morals over another, it should be about following basic principles of human dignity without needing to resort to physicality to convey a message. Freedom of speech and a free market doesn't belie that responsibility. It can't be legislated, it must be imbibed.
Of course, that won't ever happen. Cheers!
