Oct. 5, 2010
COMMENTARY: Social Networks, the Drive for 24/7 News, and Discerning Between Public and Private
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) - What adolescent does not want to be popular? Does anyone enjoy the persona of recluse, geek, or others that reflect positively or negatively upon sexuality?
Considering the intense scrutiny of cyber-bullying surrounding the suicide of a Rutgers freshman whose tryst with another male was secretly live streamed, privacy invasions and bullying have again risen to buzz of the day.
Actually, a few lines in “Easy A,” a film that loosely reinterprets “The Scarlet Letter,” set a tone --- why do young adults have an obsession about documenting, blogging or revealing everything that happens during their day for worldwide distribution? Olive (Emma Stone) experiments with the reversal of unpopularity. She purposefully has a “story” spread that she “did it” with a formerly tagged “gay” student. Seeing her name on tips of tongues and in text messages aplenty, Olive succumbs to another students plea --- by orchestrating a pretention that she “got it on” with the guy, her rep goes from curiosity to SLUT.
The high schooler likes the attention.
Cross fade to the dominance of reality shows and , obviously, the 24/7 news cycle. The round the clock race to put news on TV or the internet began with CNN and has added so many others that the viewers have fled the originator in favor of networks that provide niche news with a spin.
HOTNESS AND SCANDAL GO TOGETHER…
Whether political, celebrity oriented, or eyewitness oriented, the clips that roll over and over favor negativity and scandalous revelations. A well placed sound byte can surge political popularity polls, just as the fervent texting of teens heightens or diminishes the “hotness” or undesirability of classmates.
Candidates for office have a tough campaign ahead. Once upon a time, news traveled slowly which made it easier to cover flubs and flip flops (of the mouth and of conduct). What’s a candidate to do as their platform position which shot them into the general election evaporates? Should they continue standing true and delivering or maneuver and tweak?
The former could bring a loss on election day. The latter brands you every euphemism and synonym for “liar” that can be written or spoken. Candidates do not have the “change my mind” privilege of the female species. And, it’s difficult to find anyone who has not modified their platforms. Listen to a national campaign and note the modifications that occur when the candidates stops in the Northeast, then goes Southerner, and moves out West.
These all relate back to the faux-promiscuous nature of wallflower Olive. “Easy A” depicts her learning curve in swinging from unheard of nobody to envied social standing and, ultimately, a meltdown as too much sexuality brands her despised, leaving her back to the beginning…. Alone.
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE: THOSE POSTING OR CLICKING, OR BOTH?
Facebook’s development in “The Social Network” has the same curve. Hacking sorority data so that guys can “rate” women they know on campus burns out the network and lands the creator in a disciplinary hearing. Who’s more to blame, the one that posted the choices or those who fell into the addiction and kept on clicking?
A glance at Twitter or Facebook reveals a lot of nothing chatter. Sue had a good day. She’s going to sleep. Paul feels depressed. Will anyone join him at Starbucks? Those comments likely won’t matter to a future employer, wife/husband, or gated community board. They should not, anyway. Could an employer find that Sue’s postings about sleeping infer she’s not the energetic type they want for the position and the same for the depressed coffee drinkers?
Actually, the posting phenomenon allows anyone with access to a computer to “star” for 15 seconds of top of the page on hundreds (or thousands) of Facebook updates.
Since anyone can be a “star” or a “reporter,” a candidate for office (or anyone in a revered position) must guard their pen , mouth and body language 24/7. It’s not enough to brief up prior to the cameras rolling, no, it might be rolling unknowingly on someone’s cell phone when you mock something, express rage, or display sympathy, especially if your action does not fit you words.
Efforts to uncover the truth in the name of reality have led to sharing everything. The computer screen has replaced the front porch , church steps, office water cooler, or school hallway.
LIFE UNDER A SPOTLIGHT
Bullying comes in many forms, impacting wall flowers and leaders. A retaliatory strike back at Jon Stewart’s barbs on Comedy Central cost a young CNN Cuban-American (Rick Sanchez) his job for letting the rank back turn the spotlight from news and parody into egotistical, bad mouthed bigot that placed him on his own “list you don’t want to be on.”
Have you observed the premium that celebrities and elected officials place on privacy? If they have a high enough rating, their security details seeks out and orchestrated hideaway for them to be themselves. If you don’t have an entourage, you may have to find a secret barren location free of eavesdropping.
However, the trouble with teen bullies belies their immaturity: They do not know when to cut someone a break and not cross a line in the sand (or on the computer).
TRYING ON AN OPPOSING VIEW TO FIND SOLUTIONS
Young people and newly “befriended” users could do well to adopt the vision of a candidate looking beyond winning and losing. A politician no, but a statesman they become. A leader must join others to negotiate the best pathway for their constituents in the hood, city, county, state or nation. During the journey, they may try on a viewpoint that seems a little ill fitting and a bit too loose before arriving at a nearly perfect fit.
Those training in the legal fields learn how to evaluate a scenario and automatically support or deride interpretations.
For those seeking government office, the standard often becomes an art of compromise because you can’t successfully achieve all those “promises” without the assistance of others. And, to get their assistance, you agree to help them…. Some of the “deal making” goes on before cameras and other behind closed doors. Better that the closed door debates shine brightly after the general consensus is on the table. In fact, the “statesman” will tell the truth; I traded this for that. The politician will speak with a forked tongue denying deviation from the espoused path.
TO BECOME STATESMEN, NOT POLITICIANS
It’s similar for celebrities who by their very occupations place themselves in full public view as actors, dancers, athletes, models, and best-selling (or not selling) writers.
The suave celeb will have made peace with the candid camera. If you note, how come only a handful of performers or athletes have the “bad” rep? Don’t some of those not splattered on the front pages week after week get drunk, get angry, or break rules? How do the famous find a truce between “public” and “private” behavior?
Where is the threshold over which thy cell phone or network identified camera should not roll?
An agreement to write little gained an as promised exclusive and trust. Another gained access standing behind the rolling camera subject to normal embedded type statesman handshakes.
PUBLIC, PRIVATE
Since the impulsive nature of the internet foregoes inhibition, the wallflowers, bullies, and candidates should acquire that statesman word to their vocabulary. One expert suggested that civility must prevail despite divergent perspectives.
The “statesman” work out compromises and set limits. This expert suggests that young internet users go into their “friend” data base and operate from those “groups.” If you hear or see something that’s wrong, don’t watch, turn it off, and spread the word, so that the “streamer” learns about a “limit” and one, two or three less “gifted” musicians jump off bridges rather than face the mob.
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COMMENTARY: Social Networks, the Drive for 24/7 News, and Discerning Between Public and Private
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) - What adolescent does not want to be popular? Does anyone enjoy the persona of recluse, geek, or others that reflect positively or negatively upon sexuality?
Considering the intense scrutiny of cyber-bullying surrounding the suicide of a Rutgers freshman whose tryst with another male was secretly live streamed, privacy invasions and bullying have again risen to buzz of the day.
Actually, a few lines in “Easy A,” a film that loosely reinterprets “The Scarlet Letter,” set a tone --- why do young adults have an obsession about documenting, blogging or revealing everything that happens during their day for worldwide distribution? Olive (Emma Stone) experiments with the reversal of unpopularity. She purposefully has a “story” spread that she “did it” with a formerly tagged “gay” student. Seeing her name on tips of tongues and in text messages aplenty, Olive succumbs to another students plea --- by orchestrating a pretention that she “got it on” with the guy, her rep goes from curiosity to SLUT.
The high schooler likes the attention.
Cross fade to the dominance of reality shows and , obviously, the 24/7 news cycle. The round the clock race to put news on TV or the internet began with CNN and has added so many others that the viewers have fled the originator in favor of networks that provide niche news with a spin.
HOTNESS AND SCANDAL GO TOGETHER…
Whether political, celebrity oriented, or eyewitness oriented, the clips that roll over and over favor negativity and scandalous revelations. A well placed sound byte can surge political popularity polls, just as the fervent texting of teens heightens or diminishes the “hotness” or undesirability of classmates.
Candidates for office have a tough campaign ahead. Once upon a time, news traveled slowly which made it easier to cover flubs and flip flops (of the mouth and of conduct). What’s a candidate to do as their platform position which shot them into the general election evaporates? Should they continue standing true and delivering or maneuver and tweak?
The former could bring a loss on election day. The latter brands you every euphemism and synonym for “liar” that can be written or spoken. Candidates do not have the “change my mind” privilege of the female species. And, it’s difficult to find anyone who has not modified their platforms. Listen to a national campaign and note the modifications that occur when the candidates stops in the Northeast, then goes Southerner, and moves out West.
These all relate back to the faux-promiscuous nature of wallflower Olive. “Easy A” depicts her learning curve in swinging from unheard of nobody to envied social standing and, ultimately, a meltdown as too much sexuality brands her despised, leaving her back to the beginning…. Alone.
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE: THOSE POSTING OR CLICKING, OR BOTH?
Facebook’s development in “The Social Network” has the same curve. Hacking sorority data so that guys can “rate” women they know on campus burns out the network and lands the creator in a disciplinary hearing. Who’s more to blame, the one that posted the choices or those who fell into the addiction and kept on clicking?
A glance at Twitter or Facebook reveals a lot of nothing chatter. Sue had a good day. She’s going to sleep. Paul feels depressed. Will anyone join him at Starbucks? Those comments likely won’t matter to a future employer, wife/husband, or gated community board. They should not, anyway. Could an employer find that Sue’s postings about sleeping infer she’s not the energetic type they want for the position and the same for the depressed coffee drinkers?
Actually, the posting phenomenon allows anyone with access to a computer to “star” for 15 seconds of top of the page on hundreds (or thousands) of Facebook updates.
Since anyone can be a “star” or a “reporter,” a candidate for office (or anyone in a revered position) must guard their pen , mouth and body language 24/7. It’s not enough to brief up prior to the cameras rolling, no, it might be rolling unknowingly on someone’s cell phone when you mock something, express rage, or display sympathy, especially if your action does not fit you words.
Efforts to uncover the truth in the name of reality have led to sharing everything. The computer screen has replaced the front porch , church steps, office water cooler, or school hallway.
LIFE UNDER A SPOTLIGHT
Bullying comes in many forms, impacting wall flowers and leaders. A retaliatory strike back at Jon Stewart’s barbs on Comedy Central cost a young CNN Cuban-American (Rick Sanchez) his job for letting the rank back turn the spotlight from news and parody into egotistical, bad mouthed bigot that placed him on his own “list you don’t want to be on.”
Have you observed the premium that celebrities and elected officials place on privacy? If they have a high enough rating, their security details seeks out and orchestrated hideaway for them to be themselves. If you don’t have an entourage, you may have to find a secret barren location free of eavesdropping.
However, the trouble with teen bullies belies their immaturity: They do not know when to cut someone a break and not cross a line in the sand (or on the computer).
TRYING ON AN OPPOSING VIEW TO FIND SOLUTIONS
Young people and newly “befriended” users could do well to adopt the vision of a candidate looking beyond winning and losing. A politician no, but a statesman they become. A leader must join others to negotiate the best pathway for their constituents in the hood, city, county, state or nation. During the journey, they may try on a viewpoint that seems a little ill fitting and a bit too loose before arriving at a nearly perfect fit.
Those training in the legal fields learn how to evaluate a scenario and automatically support or deride interpretations.
For those seeking government office, the standard often becomes an art of compromise because you can’t successfully achieve all those “promises” without the assistance of others. And, to get their assistance, you agree to help them…. Some of the “deal making” goes on before cameras and other behind closed doors. Better that the closed door debates shine brightly after the general consensus is on the table. In fact, the “statesman” will tell the truth; I traded this for that. The politician will speak with a forked tongue denying deviation from the espoused path.
TO BECOME STATESMEN, NOT POLITICIANS
It’s similar for celebrities who by their very occupations place themselves in full public view as actors, dancers, athletes, models, and best-selling (or not selling) writers.
The suave celeb will have made peace with the candid camera. If you note, how come only a handful of performers or athletes have the “bad” rep? Don’t some of those not splattered on the front pages week after week get drunk, get angry, or break rules? How do the famous find a truce between “public” and “private” behavior?
Where is the threshold over which thy cell phone or network identified camera should not roll?
An agreement to write little gained an as promised exclusive and trust. Another gained access standing behind the rolling camera subject to normal embedded type statesman handshakes.
PUBLIC, PRIVATE
Since the impulsive nature of the internet foregoes inhibition, the wallflowers, bullies, and candidates should acquire that statesman word to their vocabulary. One expert suggested that civility must prevail despite divergent perspectives.
The “statesman” work out compromises and set limits. This expert suggests that young internet users go into their “friend” data base and operate from those “groups.” If you hear or see something that’s wrong, don’t watch, turn it off, and spread the word, so that the “streamer” learns about a “limit” and one, two or three less “gifted” musicians jump off bridges rather than face the mob.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
