The One Sure Way to Avoid an Old-Tweets Scandal
It has happened to everyone from comedians to journalists lately
You tweeted that thing years ago. You don’t even really remember it. You’re not the same person you were back then. But it’s back to haunt you anyway: A potential employer, a colleague, a college professor, or a political operative digs through your old tweets, and now everyone’s mad.
What can be done to prevent this nightmare scenario? You might think you can go back and clear out anything controversial from your social media accounts, but that’s easier said than done: Depending on your age and social-media prolificness, you may be dealing with hundreds or thousands of tweets. A few tools allow you to search for specific terms, but it’s hard to know what words or comments could strike a sour note today or in the future: Maybe a potential employer won’t appreciate a casual reference to “chicks,” for example, or your teen-fan expression of love for the songs of R. Kelly.
Having some embarrassing moments lurking in your digital past doesn’t make you a bad person. We’re all striving to be better today than we were yesterday, including on social media. But in an age where you are encouraged to always be your authentic self online, it’s hard not to leave a trail of the person you once were behind you.
