I have rules when hanging out with friends: Do not take my photo without my permission. And if I give you permission to take my photo, do not post it on social media without my permission. I created these rules a couple of years ago after a friend attempted to sell a photo to a tabloid news site. That person is no longer a friend, of course.
Over the last couple of weeks, photos of Malia Obama doing what most 18-year-olds do in their spare time have surfaced. She twerked at Lollapalooza, which wasn't so bad; all teens twerk. But then a photo emerged that showed Malia allegedly smoking weed at Lollapalooza. I mean, maybe it was a clove or a bidi? Then there's the photo of Malia sitting near a table with a giant bong, and now, this week, another photo appears to show her by a beer pong table.
I don't blame Malia for doing what a lot of 18-year-olds do nowadays. Did she smoke weed? Did she use the bong? Did she play beer pong? We will never know. But what I do know is that it appears that Malia's friends are trash. These "friends" that she seems to surround herself with are the typical selfie-loving types who see no problem in posting photos of Malia partaking in what some may consider to be compromising activities.
Now, Malia isn't on the level of the nefarious Bush twins—she's quite the Marcia Brady by comparison. But when your friends are trash and want to post everything to social media, that's a problem. Trash friends will try everything in their power to bring you down and will even attempt to sell photos of you to websites or post the most unflattering of photos to social media so that your business is out on the front street.
Who knows if President Obama or Michelle Obama care what types of friends their daughter surrounds herself with? I'm going to assume that most of these friends are from the prestigious Sidwell Friends School she attended.
There are those people out there concerned about Malia's image, especially since some consider the first family to be the closest thing out here to black royalty:
As the mother of a teenager, I realize there will come a time when I won't be able to see the type of people he surrounds himself with, but there have been several times when I've advised him about with whom he should and shouldn't hang out. And, of course, as with most hardheaded teens, there was the time he didn't take my advice but soon learned that I was right.
Teens and young adults nowadays need to have a discerning eye when it comes to their so-called friends. Because not every friend has your best interests at heart. And I'm willing to bet that every time one of these Malia-doing-teenage-things photos is posted to a site, one of those so-called friends is sitting back thinking, "Gotcha!"
It's hard enough being a teenager or young adult these days, but it's even harder when you realize some people in your circle of friends are trash.