Are You a Flogger?

It's just a phase, honey! Concerned parents in Argentina are worried about their teenage "flogger" spawn. What is a flogger, you ask? Why, it's the latest dance sensation sweeping the Argentine nation. They've actually been around for a few years -- a glam, adolescent urban tribe characterized by (a) wearing tight, colorful skinny jeans, (b) straightened, long hair hanging over one eye, (c) dancing all spastic to electro beats, (d) posing for photos covering their mouths like so, (e) worshipping this adorable little androgynous munchkin called Cumbio, (f) carrying around expensive, tricked out cell phones, and (g) posting images of themselves doing all of the above on the popular Fotolog social networking site that gives them their name.

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What’s the big deal, you ask? Just another annoying adolescent angst-ridden urban tribe? Well, it seems these muppets are particularly irritating for some reason, especially to other groups of adolescents like emos, goths, and villeros who’ve taken to hunting them down in the places they gather to administer beatdowns. Last month, a flogger was chased as he left a club in Argentina and brutally killed by an enraged, anti-flogger mob of teens. Now the nightly newscasters are all hot and bothered, spouting off ways you—the parent of a potential flogger—can tell if your son or daughter is heading down a one-way road to floggerville. Some telltale signs:

Dress: skinny, bright-colored jeans and Nikes or similar brand high top sneakers.
Mating Ritual: spastic dancing (see video).
Social Network: Fotolog.
Preferred Picture Pose: clutching hands to face.
Hero: Cumbio.
Hangout: Abasto shopping center in Buenos Aires.
Natural Enemies: emos, goths, villeros (slum-dwellers), Mom and Dad.
Lifespan: 12-20 years of age.