College boys are the new high school girls. But it’s not the boys’ fault. I blame If you’ve ever seen the show, you’ll recognize what I’m talking about. Whenever two or three of the guys are hanging out, they end up having a horrible, forced conversation about the “state of their relationships.” It’s supposed to be reality TV, but take in the conversations they have and decide for yourself. It goes a little something like this:
Gregory: So, man, um, what’s going on with you and Marissa?
Christopher: I don’t know, it’s like, complicated. It’s like, I have so many emotions. She’s just so, like…you know?
Gregory: Yeah, but you two are, like, so in sync sometimes. And she can be so chill, but other times, it’s, like, totally drama all the time.
Christopher: Yeah, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. We’re gonna have to have a serious talk or something. I mean, she’s really hot and all, and I’m really in to her right now, but I just don’t want to be, like, committed, you know?
Gregory: For sure, man.
I’m all for openness and honesty, but these boys are picking up on the wrong parts. Two friends from home have recently relayed situations to me that have convinced me that this “Laguna Beach Syndrome” (LBS) is spreading.
The situations I have in mind both took on the unnecessarily dramatic elements of the aforementioned conversation. This first involves an unbelievably long “we’re breaking up” e-mail, detailing the last three years of a relationship, and using the words “heed,” “succumb,” and the phrase “hopes, dreams, fears and wishes.” Real people don’t talk like that, except on MTV.
The other situation involves something called “The Man Code.” To set the stage, there were two male acquaintances. We’ll call them Ricky and Pat. Pat was dating a girl, and then cheated on her. Ricky, several months later, started dating the same girl. He then received an invitation to join a Facebook group—which only makes this better—from Pat, called “The Man Code,” which apparently has 37 rules. Ricky then received a subsequent Facebook message, informing him to look closely at rule number 9, which involves not dating a friend’s ex-girlfriend. I couldn’t make that up if I wanted to.
Having mature conversations about things that are important to you is one thing; it’s another to make declarations about breaking universal Man Rules. It reminds me of girls who, when they’re mad at someone, get all of their friends to stop talking to them as some sort of show of solidarity.
Don’t get all up in arms about how I’m being unfair to guys or girls or high schoolers. There is a cure for LBS. We should just all calm down. The next time you have the urge to act like Gregory or Christopher, take five minutes and think about whether or not you would want it aired on TV. I’m guessing not.
3 comments:
I've never seen Laguna Beach, but it's always been a dick move to date your best friend's ex.
Well said, Leigh Kronkel '09. Too many people have been taking their social cues from television without first thinking through whether MTV's value system really matches their own.
Nice job, Ace.
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