Should I worry about internet stuff affecting my career?

[Puddin]

I should have my degree within a couple years, my GPA is pretty good so far (straight A's and one C... hopefully if I continue to get A's I can write a letter to the dean to retake the course I got a C in and bring my GPA back up to a 4.0) but I'm a member of... dozens of internet message boards. The problem is, I've posted things on certain message boards and IRC chatrooms that might be uh... edgy? Or at least politically questionable.

I don't want to go into details... I've posted a little about politics here, but outside VGF I've had the tendency in the past to not know when to keep my pie hole shut. I've been trying to tone down recently but I'm pretty uneasy about the idea of things I've posted coming back to bite me in the rear someday and getting me fired from future jobs. Someone did post something pretty encouraging on a Mario forum I go to when I expressed these concerns:

[You] have a funny definition of edgy because you're about as edgy as a pillow. I really don't think you should be so concerned about it to be honest with you. It seems like a really irrational fear.

Like no [freaking] suit anywhere is gonna be like, "Alright, let's run a check on this guy's social media activity. You know, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram[... oh, and] don't forget to check [Mario forums.]"

My full name is pretty obscure: my last name is extremely uncommon, and my first name has only gained popularity within the past five years. I've taken steps such as removing my last name on Facebook, but my message board accounts still aren't impossible (wew double negative) to trace to my full name. Googling my full name in quotes currently only leads to stuff about... me. Whoops. Nothing bad, just proof that I'm currently the only person on Google with my exact name. Darn it, if only my name was John Smith...

Plus I post photos of myself here and on a couple other message boards I go to. Maybe I should stop doing that? Anyway, as the topic title suggests... well... that's basically all my question is. Should I worry about internet stuff affecting my career? I'm not important enough for anyone to orchestrate a witchhunt against and I haven't said anything that outlandish, but it's a fear that I'm having a lot of trouble getting over.

Hopefully there's a metaphorical statute of limitations on edginess? I'm 26 years old (college has been going slow due to health complications) so maybe if I go from now to the point where someone digs up dirt on me without saying anything edgy on the internet it won't matter anymore? Like if I'm 35 years old, and my boss finds evidence I've posted questionable memes, will "I was only 25 years old, I've changed. I'm not proud of the meme I posted and I apologize" be a reasonable defense? I kind of feel like a scumbag for even thinking about it that way.

Thoughts? Advice?

[CaptHayfever]

I genuinely believe that anyone who makes business decisions based significantly on a job applicant's/company's random employee's personal social media--especially content from 2+ presidential elections ago--is less competent than they should be to make those business decisions.
Unfortunately, the people with money & authority disagree, so hiding your Facebook stuff is a good call. (Set your privacy to "Friends Only", never add your boss, never add strangers.)

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[I am nobody]

Mario forum guy is almost certainly right. If they do anything beyond the standard background check, it's going to be searching your name and town on the major social media sites and then Googling you. Unless your dream employer is the NSA or something, very few companies have the resources to internet-stalk every potential employee, and basically none have the time or reason.

Besides, the reason Facebook and whatnot get checked isn't that they're easily tied to you, it's that they're easily tied to them once you become an employee. VGF and Mario accounts aren't likely to have that problem unless you start announcing who you work for.

[Sim Kid]

You should be alright for most mario accounts at the very least. But you should be careful about the facebook and twitter stuff because of how easily it can be linked to you.

Or at least filter it so it includes things like a picture of you reading WAr and Peace.

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

Unless you're planning on entering politics any time soon I doubt it should be an issue, especially since you're not too over the top. Cover your tracks as best you can just in case and be conscious of what you post now, but otherwise don't really obsess over it. You should be good.

[Shane]

It's hard to say what some people may consider crossing the line because that line is different for different people. You can just say something positive or at least not negative about Trump, and there are those who will dismiss you with every ism they can think of, though most people are more rational than that. Even worse nowadays is that if people are offended by what you say or so, which there is a good chance they will be, they may try to get you fired, and some businesses will cave to it. Most employers will not take it that far, but at least doing an Internet search during the hiring process is not unreasonable to expect. That may also be a positive if they feel good about your web presence, but things such as risque or even just weird images or opinions, substance abuse, dissing another employer or co-workers, or saying something that suggests you lied on your job application/resume may be problematic. I would question, however, if someone has a problem with what most reasonable people would deem harmless online content from years ago, would the actual work environment be all that suitable anyway?

[Deepfake]

I have a friend who does background checks for a living, and a bit of knowledge about how to obtain info on others, etc. There are a few things a person can be concerned about.

Data trawling/spiders/information gathering is one of them. Data that can't be parsed now but is accessible will be eventually. It's not Big Brother that has a file on you, so much as any corporation willing to pay for the info. Much of this will just have to do with your buying habits, advertising responses, if you sign up for sweepstakes, etc - the usual boring stuff. More complex analyzation methods for random data will be developed, and most of what's online will never really go away once it's recorded.

The good news is at least that, presently, lots of people are saying lots of edgy ****. It's going to have to be a pertinent security or social concern. If you're making threats against ethnic groups, etc, participating in groups that fetishize minors, etc, your words will carry a lot more weight.

Words are words, however. They can only carry as much intent as you place in them. If you say you would like to do something, it is not the same legally as stating intent to do so. Legality only affects process of law, though, so if your words or behavior impact you socially you can have a chilling effect on potential employment opportunities.

[ScottyMcGee]

lol no

Example - Donald Trump

[monstrman]

You should worry about your career affecting your Internet stuff tbh

Our opinion of you is of the UTMOST importance

[Deepfake]

[QUOTE="ScottyMcGee, post: 1617960, member: 31048"]lol no

Example - Donald Trump[/QUOTE]
To be fair, he started out with billions, really had nothing to do with him. The guy is a con.

[VG_Addict]

[QUOTE="ScottyMcGee, post: 1617960, member: 31048"]lol no

Example - Donald Trump[/QUOTE]

Isn't he bankrupt/in debt?

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

That's another thing that bothers me about Trump, he acts like he made it by himself. Give me a fraction of a percent of what he started with and I'd do many times better than he did in business.

[Apiary Tazy]

^^ Nope.

He used bankruptcy to make more money then sued everyone that tried to stop him. It got to the point that I remember someone literally barred him from declaring bankruptcy again.

[Shane]

Companies in which Trump has involvement have declared bankruptcy a few times (out of over 500 that he controls). This does not necessarily indicate anything about the health of those companies or any others now, nor does it suggest anything about him personally since they were corporate bankruptcies. It is generally accepted that Trump himself is a billionaire, though what exactly such a label entails is open to interpretation.