Caught in the Web

California teens will get a second chance with their online lives.

As of Jan. 1, 2015, the state will require websites to allow people younger than 18 to remove posts and to clearly inform minors how to do so.

Overall, it’s a noble effort. But the disconcerting part that we’ve come up with a way to slap some duct tape on a major societal problem rather than actually taking the time to fix it.

We all make mistakes, I’ve written stupid things on the Internet. You have, too — there’s no denying it.

But if we simply go through and erase everything that was ever a bad choice, it’s dubious we’ll learn from those mistakes.

All of this effort should be going toward more campaigns set to educate about representation online.

The fact is you can’t erase what happens online. Remember when your grandma told you the Internet is written in pen? She was right.

Almost every month we find out a new way to make online posts and representations even more permanent than we ever could have dreamed.

In August, the unbeatable Snapchat was even taken down. The app boasted the fact that you could send someone a photo on a timer system from one to ten seconds.

When the timer expired, so did the photo, “forever.”

But here’s where those scare quotes come in.

Through an iOS app entitled Snap Save, Snapchatters can go to their online account and view all the snaps they’ve ever received — a frightening gallery of sexts and duckfaces.

Websites such as Snapchatleaked.com are already out there capitalizing on the false sense of security we’ve acquired through developments like Snapchat.

The fact of the matter is, there will always be someone to subvert the rules, someone who gets their jollies by simply embarrassing other people.

The story is not new. IsAnyoneUp.com was arguably the most infamous revenge porn website until it was shut down in April 2012.

Since the website was shut down, one would assume that any residual images from the original site would be down by now, too, right? But thank god for our friend, Tumblr.

Simply searching for “is anyone up” still yields a myriad of revenge porn now floating around the free blogging site.

It’s nice to get a second chance, especially for minors, but there should also be real education about the dangers of online representation. It’s beyond the point of simply relying on parents to tell their kids they need to be careful.

Sure, my dad hammered home the fact that one day I’ll need to be employed, but with all the different outlets to screw up on the Internet, many parents have understandably fallen behind.

So, California teens, you may find yourself out of the frying pan for the moment, but know that you could find yourself in the fire years down the road.

— sjostrow@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Sam Ostrowski on Twitter @ostrowski_s_j.