Digital Girl

When I was younger, my mom would always have 1010 WINS on the radio: 'You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world'. I would try my hardest to wait 22 minutes just so I could have the world! What young naive child wouldn't?! No exaggeration, I would sit there and wait, wondering how they would deliver the world, to me, from the radio. Needless to say, my mother screamed at me every morning, I do not have the world, yet, and you're probably judging me. I'm ok with that.

Any-who, I have one better for you: 'You give me 10 minutes and I can tell you who's talking to who, who's in love, who just broke up with their boyfriend, and who's desperate and/or lonely'. How do I do this you ask? Simple: from my computer. This age of technology is a blessing and a curse. With a few key strokes, we have access to the world's business like that *insert finger snap*.

When we were mad at people, we used to call them and tell them, or call our friends and rant about it. Some people hit their pillows, some people wrote in a journal or what have you; they did a lot of behind the scene screaming. Now, we take to twitter, status updates and other public, need I say, traceable, government viewed sources, to vent. We, and the people who follow us, are able to track what we are saying, what we are doing, who we are screwing and all of the other crafty details they'd like. Please see the below example, which is a take on the various information social networks provide on a daily basis:

** Key:
@= twitter
italics = BBM
Full Name is = facebook

Characters: 
Latoya James:  @Tickle_Me_Toya  ( twitter name ), Toy_Story ( BBM name ).
John Smalls: @Johnny5000 ( twitter name ), John Doe ( BBM name ).
Jazzmine Wright: @Jazzy_mine ( twitter name ), Jazz ( BBM name ).
Terrence Williams: @Teebone ( twitter name ), Tee ( BBM name ).

Monday:
@Tickle_Me_Toya Waking up next to him is the best thing ever! I love my boyfriend, he's the best thing that's happened to me
@Tickle_Me_Toya Who wouldn't want a boyfriend like mine @Johnny5000
@Johnny5000 Rise and Grind!
@Jazzy_mine RT: Love is gentle, love is kind, love doesn't wake up and slap your behind!
@Teebone Need a date. Who's available?

Toy_Story: I love my baby, yup yup, I love my boy *bbm flirty face* ( BBM pic of Toya and John kissing )
Jazz: I'm waiting for Romeo, forget superman *bbm rolling eyes face* ( BBM pic of cupid )
Tee: I got mistletoe!
John Doe: Making moves

Latoya James is in Love!!!
---------------------------
Tuesday Morning:
@Tickle_Me_Toya I can't wait for him to call me!
@Jazzy_mine I'm just seeing this! O_o I'm available! #subliminal
---------------------------
Tuesday Afternoon:
@Tickle_Me_Toya Pissed!
@Tickle_Me_Toya I hate him
@Johnny5000 Phone about to die, later twitter

Toy_Story: Pissed! *bbm angry face* DON'T HIT ME UP! (BBM pic of Do Not Disturb sign )
Jazz: Committing shoe-icide tonight!

Latoya James is looking for a drink. This can't be life! What is love?!
----------------------------
Tuesday Evening:
@Tickle_Me_Toya #np Emotional Rollercoaster --- loving you ain't nothing healthy! @Johnny5000
@Tickle_Me_Toya #np Fistful of Tears
@Johnny5000 Drama #thingsImLeavingIn2010

Tee: I clean up niiiice
----------------------------

Wednesday Morning:
@Tickle_Me_Toya #np: When a woman's fed up
---------------------------

Wednesday Afternoon:
@Tickle_Me_Toya All I got it me, myself, & I. No more tears, like Mary said. I'm doing me!
@Jazzy_mine Will he call? #np: All My Life

Toy_Story: Un-break my heart ( BBM crying face )
--------------------------

Thursday

@Teebone Yooooo. Last night was #epic. The girls were HOT!
@Jazzy_mine Guess not #np: Gone
@Jazzy_mine #nw Waiting to Exhale
@Teebone What's up twitter!? What's the move for tonight?! I'm trying to go out!
-----------------------

Friday

@Tickle_Me_Toya Break ups to make ups
@Tickle_Me_Toya I'm a sucka for a smile
@Tickle_Me_Toya P.S. I Love You
@Tickle_Me_Toya Unbreakable

Toy_Story: Reunited and it feels so good *bbm smiley face * ( BBM pic of John & Toya holding hands )

Jazzmine Wright is wondering why men do the things they do. Enjoy your weekend facebook.. have enough fun for me *sigh*

* End Scene *

I hope you're not too confused, but that's a mixup of the different displays of social networks on a daily basis. If I'm best friends, close friends, 3rd tier friends or associates with these people, I could log on Saturday and see that Toya and John fought, YET AGAIN, Jazzmine is looking for love EVERYWHERE, and Tee is still trying to have fun. If I wanted to go deeper, I could look at who's wall any of them wrote on or who they @'d on twitter to find more information on it. 10 minutes on a Saturday morning, I already have the scoop on, As The Social Networks Turn.

People need to be more aware of how they are representing themselves and who has access to this information. I've heard countless stories of cooperations bringing up someone's facebook profile during a job interview and the interviewee having the 'stuck on stupid' face. We've probably all seen the email that went around of the guy who called out sick and posted on his facebook status that he was way too hungover to go to work. His manager commented on his status, stating he was fired. Lastly, google your name and if your twitter page is public, google that too. Surprise! Read 'em and weep.

Outside of all of the politics, do you really want to be the girl who's information is all out there? Guys are probably afraid to date you because as soon as they mess up, you throw on the " Love Stinks" playlist and quote Mary J Blige songs with a hint of Jazmine Sullivan ( I love you Mary & Jazmine! ). Everybody knows your business, even people who you don't really know. Then, we get upset because people are talking about our business? Something doesn't add up. I'm not saying to stop, because some of us really don't care and some of us appreciate that we have somewhere to vent about any and everything; I'd rather you do that, then go postal. Honestly, it's also quite entertaining. Just be careful.

Sometimes we get the feeling that someone is watching us, chances are, we're right. The question is, are we ok with what they're seeing.

Smoochis :-*
KK