What goes on the internet stays on the internet

By: Babiker Mohamed
Digital Analyst

Have you tried to Google yourself? Or search tofind information about yourself online.
Well if you haven’t already, you just haven’t tried yet. I’m here to tell you that data when uploaded online may still exist in various forms even when deleted. Nowadays a deleted post is like throwing a piece of paper in a trash can after mailing hundreds of copies to strangers.
The original physical paper may be gone but information on that paper will still exist.
Now as a golden rule, WHAT GOES online stays online and often forever. Unfortunately many people and young
adults in particular are not aware of this. And what’s worse is that they treat their social media like a personal diary. Posting everything about them for the world to
know, because not everything is only intended for your friends. But that is not the
core problem though. The real problem is the illusion of deletion. Many believe that they can delete their posts and data with a single click, but all you’re doing is
making a post disappear. Not to mention the dangers of that data being taken
advantage of in many unethical ways.
Your old photos including your deleted
ones for example can be fed into AI personality clones. Clones that will continue being “you” long after you’re dead. Here we’re talking about digital identity theft
which goes beyond the graves. This means that we’re not just speaking about digital footprints but digital DNA, which is self-replicating and inheritable in many
cases.
There are many social platforms that are contributing to this problem. A prime example would be catfishers using dead people’s data to create convincing fake profiles. These social media platforms are essentially creating an indirect
false sense of security and many people are falling for it. Why is it dangerous?
Because what may seem harmless online today can haunt you many many years
later.
Now we know that everything we post leaves a permanent mark. But do we
know how easy is it? A Harvard study found that 83% of deleted content can be accessible through backchannels. And the harsh truth is that every online activity
becomes a part of your permanent digital footprint in one way or the other.
There are no guarantees, and there is no such thing as permanent deletion, only
varying degrees of accessibility.