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In social media, words have meaning — and longevity
By Maria Anglin : March 21, 2013 : Updated: March 22, 2013 1:18pm
Last week, two young men in Ohio were convicted of rape, having incriminated themselves through social media.
Shortly after their convictions, two young women sent the rape victim threats.
Through social media.
Which led the cops straight back to them.
Yay, social media! As it turns out, the grown-ups are paying attention!
If there's anything we've learned from the rape case of Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond that just put Steubenville, Ohio on the nation's radar it's that, even for the popular kids, everything that a person posts, Tweets, blogs, captures on video and texts can be used against them.
Mays and Richmond will be held responsible for their criminal actions instead of using the boys-will-be-boys defense that has been used for years in cases such as this that happened way back when words disappeared moments after they were uttered.
This is a good thing, because people talk. It's human nature to brag, to be the first with gossip, or to tell someone about something that might raise an eyebrow or draw attention. It's nothing new; chatty scofflaws have been bragging and getting themselves pinched for years.
What is new, however, is the idea that everything that might draw an “ooh” or an “ahh” deserves to be broadcast. Also new is the prevalence of back-pocket technology among young people.
Even the LeapPad, a toy made for preschoolers, has the capability to capture the messiest details of life on video. Young people recognize that theirs is a reality that is only a few clicks away from being on YouTube, that their stupid human tricks can be shared with everyone via Facebook, and that they can weigh in on everything via Twitter.
Some embrace this with the I-Am-The-Entire-World, Where's-The-Applause attitude of the average toddler. Which is why it isn't surprising that crimes are Tweeted.
Here's the thing: Young people often lack the maturity to understand what they're doing. That's why they aren't usually tried as adults. But they do have to be held responsible for their actions — and Tweets, posts, videos and blogs, especially when their actions are criminal.
Social media have given the authorities a valuable tool in fighting crime, and that's reason enough for its existence.
A 2012 LexisNexis survey of law enforcement professionals showed that four out of five used social media platforms in investigations. It also showed that authorities serving smaller communities used it more.
That makes sense, if you consider that people will post just about anything on Facebook; that table full of empty beer cans, the nutty pictures from that girls' night out, the damage to the front end of the F-150.
And although it's given modern parents additional strata of nightmares, it can also be argued that it has given parents an extra tool in protecting kids from their own bad decisions.
Parents shouldn't balk at checking out Facebook pages or texting exchanges any more than they would about checking the kids' closet, especially if they suspect something is up.
Criminals, regardless of their age, need to be held responsible for their actions. That starts with being responsible for their words.