Social Media Never Goes Away

by | Dec 12, 2015 | Firm News, Florida Family Law

Things you post on the internet never disappear. What you write, post, share, and leave on the Internet will be there forever. Databases around the world store this information and unlike spray painting a wall and waking up to it neatly painted over, no one is painting over what is written on the Internet. Everyone is vulnerable on Twitter because it is a public forum. Take for instance the fact that Celebrities are highly monitored by their managers when it comes to social media, including Twitter. This is because anything you say, share, or post has social ramifications. Even with a manager, PR team, and loads of popularity a bad tweet can cause an online backlash that causes real world problems. Now consider the fact that you probably don’t have managers, PR teams, and loads of popularity going for you and the repercussions for a bad tweet is proportionally the same. The benefits of Twitter do not outweigh this risk.

How can Twitter hurt me?

  • Twitter is a public forum. Imagine standing in front of the entirety of the human race in an auditorium and anything you say or share with them is seen by absolutely everyone. This is the power of Twitter, and it is also its weakness. If you are not a celebrity or a noteworthy public figure, do you really need the entire world to hear and witness what you say and share? The answer is a resounding no. You may think that your Twitter friends are the only ones who view your tweets, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Judges and juries are well aware that social media comments and threats are as real as if you said them in front of someone’s face. This means that they could use ANYTHING you say, post, or share on Twitter against you in a court of law.

Why do Social Media sites hold information for so long?

  • Social media sites like Twitter retain all data posted on their services for a given period of time. They allow their customers to access their last 3200 tweets, but the reality is that they old all tweets in their records forever. Social media sites are not the only sources recording and holding information posted on Twitter. This leads to a redundancy of information that lasts forever.

How do I stop Social Media Sites from getting my information?

  • Do not use them. This is the easiest, and most efficient way to avoid having social media sites retain your information. If you put any information on Twitter, it will be retained forever.

Contact our family law attorney in Ft. Lauderdale toady!

The reality is that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are being marketed harder than ever because of the obscene revenue these companies earn from advertisements. The benefit of having random information at a moment’s notice does not outweigh the fact that these companies are using their client base for their own benefit. The best way to think of social media sites is similar to your Miranda Rights. Anything you say will be used against you. A court of law will not take into account any of the good things you tweeted if they have subpoenaed your information from Twitter.