The internet never forgets. Everything we post, tweet, blog, share, like, and comment on creates a permanent digital footprint that can come back to haunt us years later. As technology progresses and more of our lives move online, our past selves are preserved for all to see.
This can create a sense of fear and anxiety that our old posts, pictures, and opinions could resurface in the future and damage our reputations or careers. Nearly 80% of hiring managers and recruiters review candidates' social media during the hiring process. An embarrassing photo, an insensitive remark you made as a teenager, or a moment of frustration captured in a tweet—unless you delete all Twitter replies—could prevent you from landing a job years later.
Our Digital Selves Are Permanent
A key reason we fear our online past is that much of it still exists and likely always will. Facebook launched in 2004 when social media was just taking off. Anyone who posted back then as a teen is now in their 30s. Unless you meticulously combed through years of Facebook posts to delete them, there are likely digital relics that make you cringe today.
The internet’s permanency means mistakes can come back to bite us. U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had his high school yearbook quoted during confirmation hearings. Ancient tweets by celebrities often resurface to spark scandals, like James Gunn being fired from Guardians of the Galaxy.
Human memory may fade, but the internet does not forget. This permanence makes us fearful that thoughtless posts, inappropriate jokes, and other digital baggage may resurface at the worst times. About 70% of U.S. recruiters have rejected candidates over social media posts.
Our Opinions and Beliefs Change
Another source of fear is that the things we post online today may not align with our future selves. The person you were 5 or 10 years ago likely held different views that have evolved.
As we grow older and gain life experience, it’s natural for our perspectives to mature. However, your past thoughts and beliefs don’t disappear from the internet. Instead, they stubbornly persist as a digital paper trail of the person you used to be.
This can be problematic when old social media posts conflict with your current self. U.S. politicians have lost elections over resurfaced tweets from their pasts. Students have had college acceptances revoked after admissions officers spotted unsavory social posts.
Rather than reflecting how much you’ve grown, the internet freezes people in the past. This permanence understandably creates anxiety that our past digital selves could sabotage our future careers, relationships, or goals before we get a chance to explain ourselves.
Algorithms Surface Past Content
Another source of fear comes from modern algorithms surfacing dated posts we’d rather keep buried. Social platforms use sophisticated AI to keep users engaged. Part of this involves resurfacing old posts around anniversaries and major life events.
Facebook’s “On This Day” feature will resurface posts from 1, 5, or 10 years ago to prompt engagement through likes and comments. While great for nostalgia, these algorithms can unearth long-forgotten posts you now find embarrassing.
Other platforms also resurface dated content. Twitter started prompting users to read their old tweets during the early months of the pandemic in 2020, leading some to rediscover cringeworthy posts.
Resurfacing old posts keeps users active on social platforms. But for users, it means our past digital selves can resurface at any time despite our best efforts to bury them.
Information Spreads Rapidly Online
The internet’s instantaneous spread of information also fuels fears over past posts resurfacing. Social media allows us to share updates with hundreds of connections instantly. However, this also means potentially reputation-damaging posts can spread rapidly beyond our control.
Viral posts spread much faster online than offline rumors through word-of-mouth. Social algorithms favor sensational and emotional content that gets high engagement. This drives explosive sharing of attention-grabbing posts before we can delete or explain them.
Once online information goes viral, it becomes almost impossible to contain. Social media has accelerated public shaming of ordinary people over past mistakes that get captured and shared widely. Living life under this kind of digital microscope understandably creates anxiety about old content resurfacing.
How to Manage Your Online Reputation
While we can’t erase our digital pasts completely, there are reputation management strategies to minimize potentially damaging content.
Clean Up Old Posts
The first step is reviewing your entire social media history. Search your name on Google to uncover any online skeletons. Go back through the years of updates on all social platforms to delete or hide cringeworthy posts.
It’s tedious work sifting through a decade of tweets, Facebook statuses, or Instagrams. But a social media deep clean can nip reputation issues in the bud before old posts spread widely in the future.
Enhance Privacy Settings
Adjust your privacy settings across every social platform to put your digital past on lockdown. On Facebook and Instagram, manually review and approve tags to prevent embarrassing photos from getting linked to your profile.
Set all accounts to private where possible, even on platforms like Twitter. Restrict viewing past posts to only confirmed friends. Turn off features like Facebook’s On This Day that resurface dated updates.
The more of your digital past you can hide from public view, the lower the chances of it damaging your reputation down the road.
Bury Negative Content
If undesirable content does get out, take steps to bury it before it gains traction. For Google search results, optimize your website and social media profiles to outrank negative pages.
On reputation-damaging YouTube videos or articles, populate the comments section with positive testimonials. This makes finding the content less likely while improving sentiment for those who do see it.
Use Google Alerts to monitor your name and be among the first to know if compromising information surfaces. Address it quickly through search engine reputation management.
Proactively Shape Your Story
Rather than fearing your digital past, proactively shape it into what you want people to see. Building a professional personal brand makes you less fearful of old content resurfacing randomly.
Actively maintain social media profiles that reflect your values and beliefs today. Publish thought leadership content that tells your story. This gives you greater control over what people find when they search your name.
Proactively shaping your narrative minimizes reliance on outdated posts to form impressions. It also reduces anxiety of past content surfacing without context.
We Can’t Escape Our Digital Pasts
As social media matures, more internet users are confronting their digital pasts. Teens and 20-somethings today will likely experience similar unease revisiting early social media posts that no longer represent them.
Learning to manage your online reputation is crucial regardless of age or profession. The internet’s permanency means anyone with an embarrassing digital past could see it resurface to cause problems.
Rather than being afraid, be proactive. Take ownership of your digital footprint through ongoing reputation management. We can’t erase our online pasts, but we can influence how people perceive them.
