Send to a Friend Send

Linda R. Young, Ph.D.

What images do the words “spring break” conjure up for you? Bikini dance contests and drunken crowds on beaches and boulevards? Television, music videos and the Internet all perpetuate these spring break stereotypes. The get-away-and-get-crazy tradition has been popular for several generations, and some parents may have memories of their own that they’re happy to leave in the past. But for the Net Generation, what happens in Cancun, Miami or Vegas may not stay there. Thanks to camera phones, social networks and the Internet, those embarrassing, reputation-ruining moments may be captured forever in cyberspace and viewed by millions.

Employers now routinely check social networking Web sites and run applicants’ names through search engines as part of the hiring process. They assess an applicant’s character and judgment by looking at how they represent themselves online. Along with impulsively posting their own escapades on the Internet, your college student might find that the spring break antics he or she may not even remember could be posted online by someone else. With the click of a mouse, your child’s job prospects may be compromised.

What do you need to know as parents? First, I’ll explain why young people behave recklessly during spring break, and then I'll offer some tips for talking to your kids about the potentially serious and long-term ramifications of posting such material online.

1. Why do young people do embarrassing, stupid, risky or degrading things during spring break?
2. Why do young people post so much information, including embarrassing photos and stories about themselves or others on the Internet?
3. Tips for parents

Watch Dr. Young's short video on the potential online side-effects of a wild spring break:

NOTE: Qwest is providing this resource developed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as a public service. Qwest assumes no liability for the accuracy or use of this information.