Virtual=Reality
Proof that today’s youth are not the apathetic lot that old people say we are.
The unregulated virtual world gives you the true, unregulated picture of the University that they may not want you to know about.
Many people have decried the lack of political consciousness of America’s youth today. While it’s true that you probably would have seen more protest leaflets posted on the bulletin boards across campus 40 years ago than you do today, the online universe embodies protest for today’s students, both formally and informally. No, not all Facebook conversations regard which presidential candidate’s health care plan will best benefit the nation, but social networking sites provide a way for young adults to criticize those in positions of power or in some cases, to blatantly flaunt their nefarious activities as proof that they cannot be tamed.
One example of a Facebook group formed as a protest, albeit a tongue-in-cheek one, is a group formed by my friends in high school. The group serves as a male rights organization which responds to an actual school organization, Empower, which masqueraded as a female-rights group but was decidedly more anti-male. We acknowledged that this group would never receive administration approval, but by posting it on Facebook we were able to get our message across in a way that wouldn’t offend every female in the world.
Recently, many of the starters on my former high school’s football team were suspended after the administration was notified of photos that purportedly show the players in the presence of alcohol. The photos were sent in by a student from a rival school and the administration suspended the players based on this evidence. The controversy arises from the fact that most of those suspended were only photographed with cups in their hands and may or may not have actually consumed alcohol. This illustrates perfectly how Facebook allows students the freedom (supposedly) to revel in publishing their acts of lawlessness without threat of repercussion. These same students likely wouldn’t post these pictures inside the school but the perception of online anonymity causes them to abandon common sense. Following this incident three separate anti-administration Facebook groups were created in protest. One group has almost 500 members while the other two have about 100 members each. That’s a large percentage for a school of about 2500 students.
A quick perusal of Facebook reveals that the apparent lack of political involvement associated with our generation is not accurate. The largest pro- Barack Obama group has over 362k members. Coincidentally, the single largest explicitly political group on Facebook an anti-Hillary Clinton group which boasts a membership of over 430k. My point is that political activism is not dead, but has simply changed and evolved through time as technology changed. Plus, it’s not just us “youngins” that are using the internet to express political views, all major presidential candidates have posted videos on Youtube.
The tangible universe is one fraught with regulations. During class officer elections I witnessed my RA tearing down a candidate’s posters simply because they were “unapproved signage”. The “virtual” University composed of social networking sites which link students are free from restrictions, unless you attend my old high school. Institutions like high schools and universities carefully monitor the images their public image and can control the material found on their campus. The virtual university has become the form of protest for students today. The virtual university provides the true, unfiltered, gory details of what goes on at Universities. So the next time you hear “Back in my day…” just knowingly smile and laugh.
For an unrelated but really funny Onion-style article about face book go here:
http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2006/04/03/Features/Facebook.poke.Leads.To.Awkward.OneNighter-1777165.shtml
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