Social media kills concept of "personal life"

by Addie Rae Allen

It’s 1998. Grocery stores are lined with tabloids, most of which detail the affair of President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky. It’s a tale as old as time: “President Cheats on Wife.” Jefferson, Roosevelt, Kennedy. But it’s different in the digital age–Clinton and Lewinsky's faces were not only plastered in print, but also online.

The Clinton scandal may have been one of the first to be displayed in the digital stage, but it has certainly not been the last. Almost three decades later, such large-scale drama exists on computer and even phone screens. Like journalists in earlier years, now regular people are faced with a similar dilemma: to post, or not to post?

In an anonymous Talon poll on Jan. 26, 76.7% of Falcons say they have reconsidered or debated whether or not to post on social media. The statistic suggests an internal dichotomy between a longing to have a media presence and keeping moments private to preserve the memory free from other people’s judgment.

“I hate how we have made [social media] to where people cannot feel comfortable posting what they want just because of others’ opinions,” Hailey Avitabile (‘24) says. While students may ultimately have the choice to post, many of the famous faces we see daily do not.

“Celebrities' lives are put on blast,” Mackenzie Creasman (‘24) says, “and many people harshly judge them as if they fully understand.” Turn to page 10

“Everyone has a voice,” Safety and Emergency Services Coordinator Charles Todd said to open the summit. “High school students are the first line of defense when it comes to safety.” Students discussed the introduction of an identification system that would help to identify students and discern them from outsiders.