Perhaps, but their attempts to do valuable things will be more difficult. They'll have a very hard time beating a viral video before they apply to college, and getting into college is going to be incredibly difficult once the selection committee Googles them.

"They'll have a very hard time beating a viral video before they apply to college, and getting into college is going to be incredibly difficult once the selection committee Googles them."

Are you saying that these kids should be admitted into college over kids that don't throw rocks at people and destroy other people's property?

There are plenty of decent-quality state universities that have essentially mechanistic admissions by functions of GPA, class rank, & standardized test scores.

I think they'll learn more by being held accountable for their actions than being given a pass.