Walking with my sister around Diamond Head one day, reminiscing about our childhood, we became deeply engrossed in a conversation about all the things they don’t teach you in high school. Home economics taught you how to cook and sew, but not how to balance a household budget. Accounting helped you balance your checkbook, but made no mention of the importance of good credit or how to build it. That, we had to learn from our father. And while cell phones had finally evolved to be smaller than the size of a car battery, dial-up internet still loomed in the not-so-distant past, leaving social media an obscure and unexplored, eighth wonder of the world.
Flashforward to 2023, where ChatGPT is writing everything from college essays to doctors’ diagnoses, and a recent statement released by the Center for AI (artificial intelligence) safety reads, “Mitigating the risk of extinction fromAI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Wasn’t Terminator 2 supposed to have taken place in 1995? Or could it be that judgment day is just around the corner? But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we start fretting about mass extinction by way of the Mercury Man, perhaps we should focus on instilling a more honed sense of self-preservation in ourselves on a scale little closer to home.
Technology has always advanced faster than the law or my school curriculum could ever keep up, so it seems all the more essential to be “so cial media savvy,” even if we might not necessarily be “tech savvy.” And while there are many ways to post about an endless variety of topics, it’s important not to let a moment of inebriated weakness, or perhaps even just a rough day at work, lead us to post less than scrupulous things, much to our social or even professional detriment. And while you need a license to drive a car or catch a fish, there are, to date, no qualifying requirements to post on social media. It’s pretty much the wild west out there.
Growing up in our household, the number one rule after “honesty is the best policy” was to always think about the consequences of your actions. And while a male acquaintance recently told me he bore the distinct privilege of never having to think about the consequences, but rather just dealt with them afterwards as they came, that kind of lack of awareness can have dire effects for the rest of us mere humans. It may seem like just desserts to post a photo mocking a belligerent guest who stiffed you on a tab, but posting a photo of anyone’s ID, credit card slip or other identifying and/or financial information is a big no-no. Not only will you most likely be flagged by the social media site, but I’ve seen more than one friend lose their job this way, especially if you’re citing where you work. Even if you don’t work in a restaurant, keeping your social media social, and your professional life professional, is a good rule of thumb.
Beware of your surroundings. You may be on vacation, but your colleague you just posted doing lay-back shots may decide to call in sick to work tomorrow, and your hilarious antics might get them more than just laughs from their boss who likes to scroll through TikToks first thing in the morning. Not to mention, if those lay-backs took place in a bar, you could be jeopardizing that establishment’s liquor license if you tag them or identify them by name. For those who don’t know, hashtagging is an identifying marker which, among other things, flags the venue you’re tagging and lets them, and everyone else, know you’re tagging them in a photo. So, make sure you tag with intention, and only bring positive attention to those you mean to support.
Lastly, what goes up, must come down. Anything you upload to the internet is out there for all to see — forever — and can even be downloaded in the form of a screenshot onto someone else’s hard drive. Don’t send anything out into the ether which might cost you that dream job, or that dream partner in the long run, because, unlike the Mercury Man, none of us can (yet) travel back in time.
These days, the number one request I receive when creating cocktails is that they be “Instagrammable.” Translation: Make the beverage as beautiful to look at as it is delicious to drink. Layering bright colors and elaborate garnishes help to visually elevate an experience whose flavorful, aromatic and textural pleasures do not always translate through a photograph. After all, seeing is believing!
Teatime in Tokyo
0.75 ounces Butterfly Pea tea-infused Tenjaku gin
0.5 ounces Luxardo bitter bianco
0.75 ounces Funkin lychee purée
0.5 ounces fresh lemon juice
0.25 ounces fresh lime juice
2 ounces Fever Tree premium club soda
Shake Luxardo Bitter Bianco, Funkin lychee purée, lemon and lime juice over ice. Add Fever Tree premium club soda to shaker tin, and strain over fresh rocks into Collins glass. Float Butterfly Pea tea-infused Tenjaku gin over top. Garnish with edible gerber daisy and three lemon peel flower cut-outs.
Alicia Yamachika is a bartender and craft mixologist, who currently is the key account manager at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits on Oahu. Follow her on Instagram (@alicia_ yamachika). Her column will appear every second Wednesday in Crave.
