Wired Life Lessons

I wasn't sure whether to post this on Ypulse or Totally Wired so I'll post it here. It's a simple thought: Let's try to keep everything in perspective when it comes to life in "The Digital Age." I'm referring to the latest incident of Virgin Mobile using a teen's photo posted on Flickr in their Australian ad campaign. Whenever something like this happens, whether it's a high profile cyberbullying case, the NY AG's latest effort to investigate Facebook over predators or an image being used in an ad campaign without permission, I feel like the response tends to be extremely reactive and panicked.

Cyberbullying? Yes, it's real. It happens. Just as offline bullying is real and happens. In most cases teens have become savvy enough to deal with it (block, ignore, etc.) online. There are cases where it has gotten out of control. Lawsuits have been filed. Schools are drafting policies. PSAs have been created. Each lawsuit is a test case. We're figuring it out.

Predators now on Facebook? Really? Most teens keep their Facebook profiles private — friends only. If anyone sends the type of message reported in this AdAge article (reg. required): "u look too hot. … can i c u online [webcam]? im avl at …"; "I'd love to get off on cam for you hun; "do you like sex?;" "if u want call me [number deleted] or u can give me ur number?" and "call me if u want to do sex with me [number deleted] ok." They are going to ignore it and delete it. Should Facebook be more responsive? Yes. And I'm sure they will after this spate of press.

With Virgin Mobile, they screwed up. Anyone who works in advertising or media should know they need appearance releases for anything, and a parent's signature when it's a minor (even if is under a Creative Commons license). Having worked in television, I'm surprised that this somehow got by Virgin Mobile's legal department. Does it mean that anyone's Flickr photos may end up being used in a commercial ad campaign? Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think any large company or agency would go there. Not after this. Can anyone else grab your digital photo and use it for anything they want until you find out? Yes. That's what comes with posting photos online (whether they are public or private — there is no such thing as 100 percent private online).

My point is that we're in the middle of all of this. We're figuring it out. We're learning — sometimes the hard way. But we're learning…

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