Have you been guilty of 'Googling' a friend of the past? What about checking out a teacher on Facebook? Youths aren't always aware how easily things they have done online can be traced back to them. Once you are tagged in that one picture while drunk, getting frisky with a boy or making a derogatory comment, it can all prove to be a stumbling block in a perfectly good future. Take the example, the 14-year-old girl who was recently thrown into a nationwide debate for making a threatening video against the Prime Minister. I am certain when she posted this video, she had no idea it would have reached the magnitude that it did. She even took the video down when she realised her mistake but it had already been shared multiple times and thus, the damage was done.
While it has been argued that our privacy is being invaded, once your good reputation is gone, there is very little that can be said or done to retract that. The Internet serves to be a crucial resource in today's society, and certainly social networking has become part of our culture. More than ever youths have to be conscious of the decisions they make online as well as offline. It is becoming a common practice for educational institutions as well as employers to do research about your character before you are admitted to a university of choice or workplace, hence, the importance of protecting your online character.
Don't fear though; there is good news. Today, you can take measures to polish that reputation by cleaning up those pictures, keeping tabs on your comments by making the assumption that whatever comment you make will be viewed by millions (as it has the potential to) and instead of posting random videos of yourself, post one doing something positive in your community, volunteering, a beach cleanup or a fundraiser. Regardless of your privacy settings, you should not have anything on any site that you do not want people to know about because the Internet is not a place for secrets as the aforementioned example clearly signals.
Everyone has made mistakes in the past and sometimes a simple apology can be sufficient but instead of going into a lot of details, save that for a face to face conversation. Debates also have the tendency to become very heated and although we are allowed to have opinions, keep in mind that you must keep them respectful. It is always a good idea to block persons who are being abusive. Have your online reputation match your offline one and if your offline persona needs some cleaning up as well, get involved in your community and be a positive influence in your country. Don't risk losing out on great opportunities, start putting your best foot forward now!
Dawn Rosales
Press Pass Correspondent
University of the West Indies