As a tenured academic in Higher Ed and a practicing professional I can see why HR would look at social media sites when reviewing a candidate for a job. Young people have always wanted to have fun while in college but usually it wasn’t broadcast to the world. Now with everything being available instantly they need to re-consider what they are doing. This new, new economy is not playing around. I tell my students to constantly “work harder” because you are now competing against the world for a job. Companies will outsource in a second if it helps the bottom line. There is no loyalty in business. It all comes done to money. Today with the cost of an education at an all time high it behooves the student to treat it as a privilege and not a rite of passage. They need to realize that these are serious times and every action has a re-action. They need to be focused on achieving their goals. They can have fun but not to excess. And we are living in a time of excess. Mounting debt, credit card, student loan, mortgages…,etc. Is it easy to blame the media, yes. It is right to blame the media, partially. I teach media and a friend of mine who is a psychologist agrees with me. When our heroes are telling this generation that success is all about “getting the money, the cars and the girls” repeatedly in song and video it penetrates very deeply. It is not a single occurrence it is the essence of the media’s message today. It takes a very mature young person to see that hard work brings about success. It is especially difficult when they see “pop icons” being arrested, shooting each other, telling them respect is about “putting a cap in yo’ ass”. All the while the media moguls live behind the scenes in gated communities and sending their children to private schools so they don’t come in contact with this element. A new feudal system is being born, but to quote the “Who” – Here comes the new boss – same as the old boss”. It is very tough to fight a 24/7/365 onslaught of media imagery that has become totally irresponsible. I love media and what it brings but once you put ratings over morales everything falls apart. Cronkite’s death was a turning point – thank goodness for Jon Stewart. A comedian maybe but much more a satirist. We are in difficult times. It is a shame but it is one we brought about on ourselves. We need to refocus and find the way out of this mess, like a hangover from a frat party. The only problem is you got your final exam in five minutes. Better sober up and try to focus on your future.
