Social Media Changes the Way College Spring-Breakers Behave

With cell phones immediately capturing photos and then instantly being uploaded to Facebook and Twitter, college students now have to be extra careful when celebrating the college weeklong vacation known to many as the rite of Spring Break.

Back in the 1990s MTV ran a popular afternoon televised feed of Panama City, Daytona Beach and various other US cities of college students letting more than just their hair down for a weeklong celebration of alcohol, beaches and partying. The only way to be “caught” in this behavior was through TV’s camera crew and your roommate’s disposable camera. Now though, with the instantaneous world of social media, spring breakers can’t be as foolish.

One of our very own interns ventured down to the sunny island of Key West, for spring break. After casually sitting around a table at a bar drinking a few beers, a New York Times reporter approached her and her friends asking why they weren’t acting more wild, “I’m trying to get a job” she responded, “the last thing I want is to be caught acting like an idiot.”

Many college students aren’t acting the way they used to in fear of it coming back around to haunt them by not only their parents, but future employers. Reuters recently reported that employers are now asking potential employees for Facebook user names and passwords, as people are making their profile pages more and more private.

Have we crossed the line?

Read the NY times article here: Spring Break Gets Tamer As World Watches Online