Social Media Past by Corvet Williams

Technology has its pluses and minuses. The internet saves information so one can go back 10 years ago or more on sites like Twitter and blogs and reveal posts of racial slurs, gay bashing, and other derogatory statements. Lately, this has caused some adverse attention to some celebrities about posts they have made in the past. It leaves me to think of how I would feel in a case like that.

 I am not the same person emotionally and mentally that I was 5 years ago let alone 10 years. I don't even remember most things I have posted. Facebook has memories it shows you from posts you made on a particular date but a different year. Some of my posts I’ve seen, I’ve thought, ‘What was I thinking?’ I almost felt embarrassed knowing I said it ‘out loud’ by posting it on social media. With that being said where is the pass or understanding for growth and maturity? I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I've done, thought and said some things in the past when I wasn't as mature as I am now. So what, am I to be condemned for being immature? What if I have clearly shown I am not that same person anymore? Should I still be judged by my previous immature actions? I am not talking about actions from last week, I’m talking about years ago. How far back, is too far back? How can a person redeem themselves after something like this comes to light? Should there be a statute of limitations for social media posts? 

As a business owner and entrepreneur, what if someone found a post I made that was not socially acceptable or politically correct? And what if I lost customers, vendors, business, sales, etc? Imagine working day and night and years to build a brand and business, to have it lost virtually overnight? How devastating would it be to lose a main source of income because of a previous belief? I was raised to have certain beliefs that I do not condone now, but at one point in my life, I thought that was the ‘right’ way to think. If a person shows they have grown away from whatever they may have said then I don't see the problem in forgiving them. I once saw something that said if Maya Angelou died in her 20s, she would have died a prostitute and a single mother. The same post said if Malcolm X died in his 20’s he would have died a thief, woman beater and drug abuser. Yet they both went on to do great things in their lives and change the lives of many for the good.

Laws have statutes of limitations and employers only go back so many years for work experience, why not the same for social media posts? Let me know what you think about this and what is the best way to change how we judge a person's past - social media past that is.

Find more about Corvet www.corvetwilliams.com/ Twitter: @CorVet