In the year 1845, a young man by the name of Henry David Thoreau decided to embark on a two-year hiatus from society. He built himself a small shack on his friend’s property, next to Walden Pond, and spent his time contemplating the nuisances of society. As documented in what is perhaps the most famous of American non-fiction books — Walden — Thoreau reached the conclusion that society has turned too far away from nature in the pursuit of ever-expanding technology, effectively making “men the tools of their tools.”

Given the fallout surrounding the recent Dropbox incident involving students who attend North Penn, it seems Thoreau’s words carry no greater merit than in the present. As individual students, we have become but mere tools for our phones, cameras, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages to propagate.

What a dynamic shift in culture, in just a few short years. The middle school days of harmless “to be honest” posts every five minutes has been put firmly in the rear view, and instead replaced with an influx of promiscuous selfies, poignant outcries of turmoil, erratic statements of political superiority and the rare breakthrough of true artistic ability. The scariest part is how these posts multiply by the hour.

However, this weekend social media has been rife with reactions to the Dropbox incident, which broke on the local news on Friday. All at once, perhaps the darkest secret of the North Penn student body came crumbling down. Fingers have been pointed in all directions, with some angered students blaming the district’s administration for “the school’s silence about the dropbox” incident, as stated on the protesters Facebook page.

Perhaps some clarity would change the perspective of the “protesters.” None of what happened has been the district’s fault; they were not the ones distributing the pictures, and as soon as the news broke the following statement was posted to the North Penn website:

“This week, NPSD administration came to understand that there is considerable discussion among some high school students about allegations that students of our school community may have shared inappropriate pictures and videos via an online format. Please know that NPSD and local law enforcement officials are working together on this matter and take alleged activities such as these very seriously. Please know that investigations such as these often take time to thoroughly complete. It is very important that anyone with any knowledge, which would contribute to an investigation of such activity directly, contact his or her local police department. Also, please join us in reminding your student the importance of not becoming involved in the online sharing of inappropriate content.”

Outside of the statement, there is not much else NPSD can do in the immediacy; this is a criminal investigation, and is being handled as such by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Until the investigation is complete, the district’s job is to comply and aid in that investigation.

Other reactions on social media have included various forms of “the boys are in the wrong for spreading the pictures” and “the girls are just as culpable for sharing their lewd photos to begin with”. In reality, though, we all bear the blame for what has been cultivated. Our student culture treating racy photos/videos sent to those we date as “no big deal” enabled the behavior, and the students involved wafted the content through the student body. The sheer scope of the content reveals where we all failed.

When did the trading of lewd photos “like pokemon cards” become acceptable in our school, or in our society? For those that are unaware, any act of photographing, filming, or videotaping child pornography is a second degree felony in Pennsylvania. A conviction may result in a sentence of imprisonment for up to 10 years. Regardless of how discreet we believe we are, the risk of the photos leaking is always there and would be met with prosecution.

Perhaps the only thing more condemnable is the frequency with which these pictures were swapped amongst friend groups. For whatever reason, a moral gap exists between what we believe is appropriate and what we know is inappropriate. Diagnosing why that is, however, is as gray as the gap itself. A variety of factors contribute: lack of maturity on our mobile devices and social media, the freedom of communication that no previous student body possessed, a lapse of reason in a moment of passion, etc. The issue that the Dropbox incident presents transcends anything seen before, as it reflects a societal onion that gets progressively more gruesome as the layers are peeled back.

In a broader sense, a long look must be taken at what power is held in the pocket of almost every student at North Penn, and how these phones have gotten others in trouble lately. Last weekend, Joey Casselberry was kicked off the Bloomsburg baseball team for an inappropriate Twitter post. An innumerable pool of millennials have lost their jobs for careless posts on Facebook. Kim Kardashian “broke the internet” with pictures of her bare body, and what is even more disturbing is the young women trying to emulate her on social media outlets for the sake of attention.

There is more at stake than a student’s self-esteem when partaking in lewd photo sharing. Almost all large job sectors consider social media profiles in hires, and this can work either to a person’s benefit or detriment. If there is a racy photo of someone floating around on the internet, the picture is there permanently. If discovered, the chances of finding/keeping a job fall drastically. Colleges also take social media into account; many Offices of Admission check online for information on applicants at random. If something found is red flagged, it is held within the school’s right to revoke a scholarship, or an acceptance altogether.

All in all, an ugly phenomenon has reared its ugly head at the behest of our school. While what is done is done, what steps can be taken to prevent such atrocities in the future begins to take shape before us. Responsibility of self-brand must become a new topic of discussion between teachers and students, and kids and parents. The potential for personal conflagration is ever present in everything put on social media, but as long as due diligence is paid to each Facebook post, Twitter tweet, Instagram picture or otherwise, no harm should be inflicted.

The current generation has reached a crossroads; either we accept our actions as mistakes and move on, or continue the benighted trailblazing of being the tools of our tools.

Further information from the NPSD is available at this link: http://www.npenn.org/Page/19878