Just Another Tila Tequila Sunrise

It all started as a sociological experiment. My students and I were discussing relationships and the fact that teens rarely interact on a personal level...it's all IM or computer messages. At best, it's a phone call...but rarely face to face. This is where MySpace.com comes in. Most of them have an account by which they can keep track of and send messages to PEOPLE THEY SEE EVERY DAY IN SCHOOL! One would think there would be little else to say, but, apparently, there is MUCH to say so they interact in cyberspace.
As an experiment, I set up an account just to see how long it would take for things to happen. Immediately, I had one "friend": a guy named Tom who was there to help me navigate the site. I instantly deleted him because it was just too wierd having a pseudo-friend. Navigating the site didn't prove to be that tough. After all, I are a college gradyouate.
One of the signs of status among MySpace adherents is the number of "friends" one has. Too few, and you are obviously not worthy...too many, and you are really shallow. I have yet to determine the numer that means "just right enough to be super-cool." I think I have 25 or so...mostly students and ex-students who discover it either by accident or by word of mouth. (Type in darrell and green bay, and you'll find me. Want to be my friend?)
So, the experiment was interesting enough, and I continue to add, maybe, one friend a week. So far, only two people whom I did not know asked to be my friend (yes, you have the right to accept or refuse...there are standards, after all!) I refused both of these people on the basis that they were probably FBI agents trolling for perverts in addition to the fact that I'm snooty when it comes to "friends." When there was no picture and no personal information provided, I opted out.
Now comes Tila Tequila: the queen of MySpace.com. She gets requests for up to a thousand new friends a day and currently leads the country with over 1.7 million cyber-"friends." PC World has recently named her One of the 50 Most Influential People on the Web. She has a song available for download on iTunes...a rap-rock revenge fantasy (not my description) thing called "I Love U." She has a manager who also manages Clay Aiken (that should tell you something right there) and wants to make it big in the music biz. You can watch the video on her MySpace site (unfortunately), and what she lacks in musical ability she makes up for in lingerie.
Honestly, what's the internet coming to?
With friends like that...