Facebook. Myspace. Cell phones. All of these devices enable people to have a conversation without being face to face. But what does one do when someone hacks into their Facebook and posts an embarrassing message for all to see? Or when someone steals one’s phone and sends out an uncomfortable text? How does one recover from such an awkward situation? Is it just all fun in games, or a game gone terribly wrong?
Many high school students will think of this scenario and laugh. In fact, in a recent survey of Placer High students, nine out of ten students admitted to posting or texting something on another person’s phone or computer in order to embarrass them.
“Allison Alvarez and I hacked Molly Barrett’s Facebook and told everyone how much she loves Hannah Montana,” shared Placer junior Jessica Fisk.
Placer junior Molly Barrett recalled another scenario when Alvarez and Fisk sent out a mass text to everyone in her contacts list asking them if they thought she was fat. She then commented “my phone died right after that.”
“One time I took [Placer graduate] Mike Fraguglia’s phone and texted Richelle [Rock], ‘I like big balls,’” stated Placer senior Elia Rivas.
Typically, students who have encountered situations such as these will laugh it off, or , as junior Camille Seamons stated “pretend it never even happened.”
“It’s okay if it doesn’t cause serious drama,” commented Barrett
Some will laugh off discomfort of this sort, but when the circumstances become a matter of life and death, it is no longer a laughing situation.
Recently, 18 year old, Tyler Clementi, New Jersey, committed suicide after his room mate, Dharun Ravi, recorded and posted a video of Clementi kissing another male student.
Clementi left the world with one final Facebook post of “jumping off the gw bridge sorry.” Seventy-two hours after his private life became public, he jumped off of the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey.
Ravi and his accomplice, Molly Wei, were charged with two counts of invasion of privacy and will face up to five years in prison if convicted.
“It’s really easy to [get hacked]. People are careless and trust that nothing will happen. But people have no right to do it,” commented junior Gabby Orteza.
So next time you have the urge to take a friends phone, or hack their Facebook, remember Tyler Clementi. Something you think is a joke, may not be funny to the person being joked about.