The Downfall of Decorum

Once upon a time there was a groundbreaking social website known as Facebook. It was a wonderful place where college students could connect. Admission to this unique club was restricted to college students, who had to have a valid student email address to join. In those early days, reaching 100 friends was a milestone and there was no need for Farmville or fake accounts or bullying. However, more recently, I believe, it has hit a new low, along with many other social networking sites and the internet in general.

One of the reasons for my sudden surge of interest in the subject is my wonderful boyfriend, JP, who is a Brit whose lived in the US for the past 12+ years. We've often discussed how our society has moved downward morality-speaking and how our children are all too often the casualties. Bullying in schools has become rampant. Rumors went from word-of-mouth-distribution from person to person, and now can travel at the speed of light, if not faster. One click of the mouse or a touch of an enter key can truly destroy one person's reputation. And, at the end of the day, the only things we have are what we think of ourselves, and more distressing, what others think of us.

As a student of education I found that our schools are not what they once were. They were once a safe haven from the outside, a place where a student could turn when times were tough. Now, however, many have turned into a place of fear, leading to tormented souls, students who turn to homeschooling to avoid harassment, and worst of all, those individuals who feel there is no other option but suicide.

Am I the only one that feels this way? Does anyone else find the irony in the fact that the more 'evolved' electronically and technologically we become as a society, the more soul-less and moral-less we have also become? How about how our careers and relationships can be made or broken by a simple online post, comment, photo-shopped pic, etc? Please feel free to comment. I would love to get opinions from a variety of sources.