SAFELY SPOTLIGHT
Book Review: LOL… OMG, a Cautionary Tale on how to Act Online
by December 8, 2011 • 1:31 am
Around 2008, a website caused quite a bit of controversy on American college campuses. Students from elite schools were posting surprisingly nasty remarks about each other Juicy Campus, an anonymous message board for student gossip.
Matt Ivester, the site’s creator, was surprised at how anonymity could make people treat each other so terribly. In his first book, Lol… OMG (short for “laugh out loud… Oh my god” in internet speak) Ivester incorporates the lessons he learned from Juicy Campus into a primer on how to act responsibly online.
Think Before you Post
The major theme of Lol… OMG is think before you post. Ivester describes how inside jokes may make you look bad when taken out of context. He cites the case of a student at UCLA who made a video rant about Asians in the college library.
The girl posted the video on YouTube, thinking only a few of her close friends would see it. The video went viral. It generated millions of views and attention from the national media. The student’s reputation was ruined forever.
While we may warn our kids about over sharing on the internet, concrete examples like the ones Ivester provides are a good way to drive the point home.
Things Stay Online Forever
What kids carelessly upload today can have a real effect on their future. According to Ivester, over 70% of recruiters have rejected job candidates because of things they posted online.
Omg… Lol does a good job of helping kids understand that when you post something on the internet, it doesn’t go away. It’s true you can delete embarrassing pictures from your Facebook. The problem is anyone can make copies of your pictures. Once that happens, where the photo gets reposted is out of your control. Many teens don’t realize this and end up posting something they regret later in life.
Tips for Cleaning up your Online Reputation
Ivester closes with a checklist for making sure you have a positive presence online. He tells students to Google themselves to see what comes up under their name and to make sure their privacy settings on social networks are setup properly. That way, posts that were meant for friends don’t accidently end up getting shared with the entire world.
Overall, Lol… OMG is a good, quick read that will make your kids think twice about what they’re posting online. The paperback version is available on Amazon for around $10.
- J
Have you talked to your kids about posting responsibly on Facebook?
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