On Saturday, I was setting up to mow the front lawn, when two bicyclists rode past. One bicyclist turned to the other just at the moment they passed, and shouted, "I wonder what it's like to be a kid these days?"
Normally, these kinds of oldster questions strike me as silly. Growing up today is really not much different than it has ever been. Times change, but the changes are more superficial than people realize. Weird things that happen today were weird things when they happened years ago too. It's just that the oldsters didn't encounter them, or no longer remember them, so they just seem weird.
But certain things are more noticeable today than they were in the past. More common. So, some things have to be explained more carefully and clearly.
The reason I mention all this is because a Facebook conversation keeps coming back to the same subject. I guess "no" is not being interpreted as "no". When I say no, I mean I'm not interested. So, let's spell it out more clearly.
Sexting is a bad idea! One must be very careful. Pictures can be used for blackmail, shown to enemies, or for half a dozen other purposes you can't even imagine. And once on the Web, pictures are permanent too. Once you release them, they are someone else's toy. I've seen pictures I had no business seeing, and don't want to see anymore. It's a bad practice, because it enslaves you to anonymous strangers' whims. You could lose jobs and friendships to whims. I guess the first time I encountered anything like it was in 1982, before the Web.
Besides, I'm 56. Really? Really?????
So, let's change the subject.
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