Despite the savvy of so-called digital natives – those who grew up with the internet, and learnt how to use a computer almost as early as they mastered walking – many young people still act recklessly on social media. As we reported yesterday, the pitfalls range from blackmail scams to ill-chosen posts that have the potential to blight young users' career prospects.
For those of previous generations, where making contact with strangers on the other side of the world meant having pen pals and waiting weeks between missives, the risks of modern online life can seem baffling. This is particularly so when by the time those over 30 first hear of a new digital platform, the young users of it have already moved on to an even newer one.
The recent case of Saudi teenager, known only by his online name of "Abu Sin", is a case in point. He was arrested for his part in what was seen as a cyber flirtation with an American woman on the live-streaming site YouNow, where their clumsy interactions – neither spoke anything more than a few words of the other's language – have been viewed more than six million times.
It ought to be stated, of course, that there is nothing inherently wrong with these modern forms of communication, just as there was nothing inherently wrong with having pen pals in earlier times. These online platforms have a powerful ability to improve the way we keep in touch and free us from the geographic and social constraints that once applied. The outcomes of these new horizons merely reflect those of the users, who range from the naively honourable to the cynically criminal.
The reality is that despite these groundbreaking new apps, young people will sometimes act foolishly and without thinking of the future. As the grey-haired among us can attest, there is nothing new in this phenomenon. What has changed is that content posted online can be copied endlessly and will persist for years into the future. Young people, of course, need to act prudently online, as in any realm of life. But future employers ought also to understand – and accept – that youth is meant to be a time of experimentation and boundary-pushing. They should go easy on youthful indiscretions.
