The Age Of Public Consumption
Welterweight boxing champion Adrian Broner's brash talk and crude antics have garnered him a great deal of attention and controversy. So when he pulled up to a homeless man on the street, with his camera phone rolling, he no doubt wanted to document his altruism for PR purposes. Broner proceeded to count out ten $100 dollar bills and handed it to the man to his astonishment. A new video surface and showed that the man was beaten and robbed the next day. It is safe to say that the beating most likely would not have happened if the initial gift was not posted to You Tube.
Karlesha Thurman walked across the stage and accepted her Account Degree from California State University Long Beach. She then realized her 3 month old was hungry and decided to breast feed. A friend expectantly snapped a photo which Thurman subsequently posted to her Facebook page. The photo has created a firestorm as to whether or not breastfeeding should be done in a public place such as a college graduation. Both of these stories highlight a troubling trend with this 35 and under crowd is their uncontrollable urge to share every aspect of their lives on social media. Family disputes, workplace frustrations, and relationship squabbles find their way to Facebook or Twitter. Peruse the headlines and daily you'll see stories someone who loses a job because of inappropriate postings on one of these sites. Just this week, the Chief of staff to Ohio GOP Rep. Steve Stivers, Adam Kuhn resigned after a photo of his penis was sent to Stivers' twitter account by Kuhn's former porn actress girlfriend. No doubt that the photo obtained by the woman was provided by Kuhn in the first place.
While members of the over 35 crowd rail against intrusions into our privacy by the government, the under 35 crowd willfully abdicates it. The concept of privacy is becoming an unknown concept to far to many in this generation. The younger sisters of Kim Kardashian who are themselves up and coming reality TV starlets were interviewed a few years ago by an entertainment magazine. When asked if the constant filming bothered them, Kendell Jenner replied "we don't remember what life was like before the cameras". I'm beginning to forget myself.
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