Today I looked back at some of the things I posted on the internet a long time ago, including some of my early posts on this very blog. How very utterly embarrassing it is.
This is a bit of a new problem in the world today. The internet is such a great platform for sharing your opinion, but what about when your opinion changes? How is one to react to everything they have shared?
I’m sure many will experience such a problem. Let’s go through a couple of the resolutions I considered:
Option 1: Delete The Offending Material
Sure, I could simply go back into the archives of my blog and let loose my index finger which is positioned over my mouse whilst the cursor is positioned over the “Delete” button. But if I remove everything I’m embarrassed about, which - let’s face it - is pretty much everything older than a few days ago, I’m left with a very flat, shallow, empty blog. In just a few days I’ll probably look at this very article and want it gone. But then nothing would ever get written or made.
Your past self has a right to live.
Option 2: Bury The Offending Material
This is a far more positive, productive solution. The internet, and blogs in particular, are designed in a way that features the most recent content. The latest blog post will usually appear at the top of the web page, in prime viewing location. And if you’re even slightly embarrassed about what’s featured on your website, that can be a great motivator to go ahead and create something better to replace it with. And the more you create and publish, the deeper that old stuff is buried into the deep darkness of the internet where few people go.
So go on, have a look at your past Tweets, Facebook posts or Instagram posts. Feel the embarrassment. Then do something better, something fresh, and continue to improve.
A Fantastic Antidote To The Entire Situation
This all boils down to worrying that others will mistake or misunderstand you in some way. It’s self-consciousness on the world wide web. It’s about judgement. So what if we all make an effort to judge less? Simply take everything you read with a grain of salt or two, particularly online. In sharing parts of themselves everyone is developing and changing, constantly.
Now I will quote Doctor Who.
“We all change, when you think about it. We’re all different people, all through our lives. And that’s okay. That’s good, you’ve gotta keep moving. So long as you remember all the people that you used to be.” - The Doctor
That’ll do it. If you gleamed anything useful from my rambling, congratulations dear reader. And I’ll see you on the other side. Of what? No idea.
Have a good one,
Yours indefinitely, Thoroughmas
