Have you ever Googled your own name? I’ll admit to doing it pretty regularly, as I like to keep a tab on what pops up when someone searches my name. For me this mostly has to do with privacy. As somewhat of a public figure I like to make sure that no information is readily accessible which could be used to harm me or the people around me. However, even if you’re not in the public eye, chances are your name has been searched online more often than you think. Someone you’ve just met through a dating app, a potential employer, people from your past that you’ve lost touch with… All of those are possible Googlers that could run into any information about you that’s floating around, and anything you’ve ever posted online.
We tend to forget that everything we put out there on the internet is around for essentially forever. Especially on high-paced platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, it’s easy to forget that posts from eight years ago are still live now. Search engine results have no time line and no context, so a tweet from 10 years ago reads the same as the one you posted yesterday. A really big reminder of this is the current trend of cancel culture: the phenomenon where old tweets or messages from public figures re-surface, containing statements that are considered politically incorrect or problematic. No matter how old the messages are, and regardless of context or how the person in question feels about the statements now, the person’s reputation is instantly destroyed and their career promptly ended as it becomes financially disatvantageous to associate with them. I don’t think there’s ever been a better example of how the past can come back to haunt you, especially online.
Now of course the chances of this happening to you are probably pretty small unless you’ve spent your younger years as a controversial comedian, but really… When was the last time you went through your social media profiles from years back? It’s a good idea to go back every once in a while and see whether there’s anything there you don’t really want on display any more. I’m not talking about problematic tweets per se, but the things all of us have: photos from previous relationships or embarrasing style phases, opinions you’ve shared that you no longer stand behind, updates that were pointless even then (just had a pizza and about to take a shower!)… There’s plenty there you wouldn’t post again today.
It’s ok to save memories of your digital life for yourself, but there’s no need to have them out on public display where everybody can see them. If there are any social media platforms you no longer use, consider deleting your account or turning your profile and posts to private. For platforms you do still use today, take a bit of time to scroll way back to when you first signed on and have a quick scan of what you’ve posted. Delete anything that doesn’t represent you anymore or you don’t feel 100% comfortable about having on display. I like to go by the question: would I post this again today? If the answer’s yes, you can leave it. If the answer’s no, consider deleting it. If you like, you can take a screenshot first and save it somewhere offline.
In my own humble opinion, things that should always be deleted are old photos of children. You wouldn’t believe the things that happen with children’s photos taken off personal social media profiles, better not to take the risk. Once a photo has been shared with your friends and family and they’ve seen and liked it, it has served its purpose online and can be taken down again and kept offline, digitally or in printed form. The same goes for your own photos from your childhood and teenage years, if you’re younger. By all means keep them, but not for the whole world to see.
Delete anything that portrays a negative work attitude: complaints about your boss or former employers, confessions to calling in sick to visit a music festival… You wouldn’t want potential future employers to run into those. If you’ve ever posted about fights or conflicts with loved ones, you may want to delete those as well.
Another thing you want to look out for is personal information you may have shared in the past such as addresses, medical information, phone numbers, etc.
Dedicate an afternoon to doing an online declutter and cleanup. Have a cup of tea and snacks ready and go at it. It’s worth it, and you’ll run into a bunch of fun memories in the process.
Do you actively monitor your digital footprint? What’s your policy on what you post online, what gets to stay and what has to go?
