“We would rather be known by everyone than be seen by no one.” If the average, honest teenager today were given this phrase and the choice of yes or no; almost everyone would choose yes. In Discretion: Teens’ Greatest Fear written by Kate Beckman is one of the many raw and frank pieces in the October issue. Our generations of teens seem to have this urge of overwhelming need to be known or popular, to keep up with our so called “image,” discussed in the article. We post unnecessary statuses on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter to keep our friends or people that we have made eye contact with, updated on who, what, when, and where we are going to a certain event or function. The obsessive want, and lack of discretion, to let others know what we are up to every second of everyday is really, honestly dismal.
In this article, everything that is mentioned could not have been any clearer than it already is; it basically describes every teenager’s life, just summed up into a few short paragraphs. I think every young adult should realize that although it is nice to keep your friends updated on what you are doing that day, but it isn’t all that essential to repeat this process every two hours. The fact that we have to constantly let others know what we are doing, or to “update our image”, poses a high threat onto ourselves. In today’s society, we hear all about stranger danger and kidnapping and other horrifying topics on such, mostly because adolescents these days cannot filter the right kind of information we should let onto the internet. What we put out there stays out there forever. Discretion: Teens’ Greatest Fear covers all the aspects of the faults that teens obsess over these days. So when you really think about it, is it really worth it to project an image of perfection to others for the price of your own personal safety in the cyber world we call the internet? Next time you decide to add an album of your crazy night out with the girlfriends featuring you and your pals in an unflattering light, think twice.