Released less than a month ago, Netflix show “You,” has already gained over thousands of viewers that have spent countless hours binge-watching this addicting and twisted show. Although the show has captured the attention of many teenagers across the country, it points out a dark truth of social media, showing how stalking has evolved due to the rise of social media. But, viewers have not taken the time to think about how things captured in the show occur in real life on a daily basis.

The show follows a normal avid social media user, Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), who happens to stumble upon a stalker masked as someone with good intentions, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgely). Less than a day later, Goldberg manages to find her social media accounts and even uses one of her pictures to figure out where she lives. The next morning, Joe is able to look inside her apartment and watch her, all from searching her name up on Google.

According to a Sept. 2019 Refinery29 article, “Anything he does on the computer, you could do on the computer. A lot of it is stuff I do actually do,” co-creator Sera Gamble said. 

“You” dives into the real dangers of revealing ourselves across various platforms; there are people out there that will take advantage of this lack of privacy and depth display of knowledge about one’s life. Often, teenagers post pictures when they go out with their friends and of songs they like, and they will get tagged in family vacation photos on Facebook. It is easy to learn about someone from what they post, and it is even easier when this information is so accessible. 

“When I went to New York for winter break, I posted on my story about the different places and their locations and I didn’t think twice about it,” junior Catherine Gilligan said.

Stalking tends to go unnoticed because we are so involved in the posts and stories themselves that we lose sight of what dangers they might present. It is a normality to search up someone’s social media after meeting them. After just a quick Google search, their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and sometimes VSCO pops up, giving a clear pathway to the inside of someone’s whole life. 

“One time I walked by this guy who was wearing a Bullis shirt and just from hearing his friend call his name I found his Instagram,” an anonymous senior said. “It is not hard at all, and it really just does not seem weird.”

Not only does the show highlight dangers of social media, but it shows how we have become so obsessed with being online through Beck’s character. Through Goldberg’s character, we are able to see how people invade the lives of others just by using their social media and following them online.

According to LADbible, “There’s nothing that’s done in the show that couldn’t be easily done in real life,” British security consultant Gordon Smith said.