In the blink of a keystroke a 16 year old girl has altered her life, probably forever.
Alyssa Douglas is a 16-year-old Caucasian girl who might have just ruined her life. She’s a hairdresser and a high schooler just trying to live a normal life, who will graduate in 2014. But from this day forward, her reputation, her chance at ever getting a job and her life have taken a twisted turn for the worst. Douglas decided to recklessly tweet something which is considered a threat to our national security, and she could be held liable for her actions in a court room or even in a jail cell.
Now, I doubt Alyssa will go to court or jail, but I do think she’s about to get a harsh lesson in Civics and a visit from the Secret Service. I also think this one tweet will change her life forever. I also, also think that she was merely repeating, and probably ramping up in teenage fashion, what she hears at home. Her parents need to take a long, hard look at themselves in a mirror.
Don’t get me wrong, I think what Alyssa tweeted is beyond the pale, and if my teenagers tweeted something like this I would consider myself a failure as a parent. But what is about to happen to Alyssa makes me shudder. Already her personal info is out there – where she goes to school, where she works, where she lives. Her 16 year old world is about to blow up.
As the mother of a 15 year old girl, who loves social media, I have made it my mission to point out postings like this to my daughter on a daily basis – I used the Michael Phelps smoking pot photo to demonstrate the need to be careful with cameras and how quickly one photo flies around the world.
This morning I showed her this tweet and explained (again) how important it is to think before she tweets, posts on Facebook, texts, Instagrams, etc. How she needs to understand that what she posts online never goes away and how it can come back, years later, to haunt you – How there are some things that are never acceptable to say.
Alyssa Douglas is an extremely stupid kid who tweeted something disgustingly vile and dangerous, and there should be a punishment. I just hope we can keep in mind her age and maturity level and make the punishment fit the crime… because my bet is Alyssa Douglas’ biggest crime is that she doesn’t possess the sense to not repeat what she hears at home.