Netflix Presents: “You”, A Push To Reevaluate Your Social Presence

*May contain spoilers

Dan Humphrey’s love for books has reached a whole new level of fanaticism in the Netflix Original series, You. Netflix describes this series as; “What would you do for love? For a brilliant male bookstore manager who crosses paths with an aspiring female writer, this question is put to the test. A charming yet awkward crush becomes something even more sinister when the writer becomes the manager’s obsession. Using social media and the internet, he uses every tool at his disposal to become close to her, even going so far as to remove any obstacle –including people — that stands in his way of getting to her.” And not to spoil anything but Joe, the bookstore manager, really does do ANYTHING to get Beck, the “aspiring female writer.” However, watching him spiral deeper into his delusions that drive his sociopathic tendencies, there is also a realization for the audience at home for how easy it is to stalk someone in today’s technological world.

With there very first meeting, Beck bought a book with her credit card at Joe’s store, and he was able to get her full legal name directly from her card. One quick transaction and a random store clerk is one Google search away from finding your LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and whatever social media, websites, or legal records that contain your name. You never realize how handing your credit card to an employee can be a real privacy risk. But Netflix producers really highlight all the ways your private information really isn’t as private as you think. Then, with Joe having found all social media pages, her Instagram was public and also full of geolocations. In minutes he was able to put together her daily schedule just from scrolling through her recent posts. Now, most college students are not Instagram Influencers who post their entire lives on social media to provide a lovely map for anyone who is willing to follow it, but, you still might want to reconsider adding that location so everyone knows exactly where you live, eat, and breath. And the risk of public and private social media accounts is right there, you know what you’re doing when you make your accounts public, just make sure your posts aren’t too revealing as well.

But to continue with the many mistakes Beck makes in keeping her private life private, her apartment is nearly 50% windows, and she apparently owns no curtains. This should be an obvious choice, but when living in New York City you should probably conceal your bedroom from the prying eyes of pedestrians or stalkers, like Joe. And later, when Joe breaks into her apartment by calling a fake gas leak in so the gas company would let him in, I would recommend telling your super or landlord to not allow anyone into your apartment no matter what. In all of Joe’s actions and all of the ways he gets closer and closer into Beck’s life, I want to add more locks to my door and delete all social media, but that is also a trigger response. You can add the extra lock but just looking over your social media and maybe changing a few things can help just as much.

The plot of You is not only about Joe creeping through NYC to woo a random woman. It is also about the struggles of being a college student, supporting yourself, dealing with family issues, and trying to keep your social life alive. Beck is not a run of the mill trust fund party girl. She grew up with a father addicted to opiates, works multiple jobs to pay for school and housing, and is also trying to find her niche in the world of being an English major. Where it does make you realize that many students have faced these issues or similar ones, there is no quick solution to those. However, she is also trying as hard as she can to be that trust fund party girl, to create a facade where her life will appear to be as glamorous and fun as the next Kendall Jenner’s. You tells a story of a girl who is massively overworked but still feels like she needs to be the perfect socialite and hide her real feelings from her ‘friends.’ Netflix presents a series that will force you to go through your social media but also your social life and think, is the image I am presenting to the world who I am and who I want to be or is the real person behind all of these accounts completely different from the one your feed presents.

I would highly recommend watching this newest addition of Netflix Originals, and take all the eerie feelings you get from watching it and putting them into making sure your information and house are secure, you are presenting the image you believe that represents yourself, the people you surround yourself with support you and your dreams and to be aware of your surroundings during all phases of sobriety as to stay safe. And if someone ever asks what you’re watching on Netflix, just respond with; I’m watching You.