I’m a long way from being an early adaptor, (actually, I’m a Luddite wannabe) and definitely a privacy freak (don’t get me started on that!), so I’ve followed with some incredulity the articles detailing what people post online. Sure, the under 25 crowd is in the front line of the movement and an article today talks about the effort colleges are making to educate them about the consequences, not to mention the dangers, but what always makes me chuckle (probably not the right response) is their shock and amazement when “outsiders” have the audacity to read what they’ve posted for their friends.

Most of the private stuff being posted on the Net isn’t going to become a real-world version of How my Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller (it became a movie called Read It and Weep), but it could cause trouble for the authors. Predators (a very real threat) aside, it’s a great tool for parents who want to know what their kids are doing and thinking, employers to get a handle on candidates (like it or not, your past is part of your present—like the adage, “You are what you eat.”), and let’s not forget what all that online thinking and bragging does for law enforcement.

What this tech-savvy, wired generation doesn’t seem to grasp is that all their stuff is not only available to the general public, but it will never go away! Like the rings of Saturn, those bits will circle in cyberspace for ages to come.

So, does my arbitrary 25 year differentiation mark some magic line that once crossed makes people immune to folly? No way! The over 25 crowd has jumped right into posting at My Space, Facebook, youtube, etc., as well as sending furious flames during arguments in e-group discussions; indulging in hot chat rooms, and sending private emails that, if you read/watch/listen to the news, will hang around forever and come back to bite the sender, recipient, or even the subject of the email, at some point in the future. (Want the manager with whom you’re interviewing now to see your comments about your first boss?)

Your little corner of the world in cyberspace includes the past, present and future, so it pays to remember the advice I heard way back in the dark ages of the Net: Never put anything online that you don’t want to see on the front page of the NY Times!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Business info, Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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