Digital Tattoos: it’s not that the kids don’t know. It’s that they don’t care

Symantec has published a survey about kids’ use of social networks, suggesting that they don’t know or have forgotten that what they put online can hang around forever. I think Symantec is wrong.

They do know. They haven’t forgotten. They just don’t care.

Young people do lots of dumb things, but it’s not that they don’t know better. I knew that smoking was dumb and dangerous, but I still started smoking.

I knew drinking two bottles of Buckfast and surfing on top of a Ford Transit wasn’t very bright, but I still did it.

I knew that driving like a complete idiot wasn’t particularly sensible, but I did that, too. I knew that pouring petrol over myself and lighting it was a bit risky, but WHOOMPH. And so on.


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0 responses to “Digital Tattoos: it’s not that the kids don’t know. It’s that they don’t care”

  1. Feybman has a great anecdote about the lighter fuel thing. his ends with trying to impress some girl then realising he was more hair on his hands than he did when he was a kid and did it.

  2. tm

    Did you mean Feynman? Bascially all his annecdotes are great though.

  3. Of course I did.

  4. That exchange reminds me of 30Rock for some reason.

    Jack: You must know Arsenio.
    Tracy: Hall or Billingham?
    Jack: You know someone named Arsenio Billingham?
    Tracy: No.

  5. tm

    There is probably something worrying about how much I laughed just reading that.