#and my first IG i cannot log into or delete so... yeah

[spikeinthepunch]

when i watch guys like vinny vinesauce or ethoslab i think about privacy online and how you know. i never think about wanting to know more, and i never seek more, and how i kind of wish more people just did that. not like it matters to me really if some people talk about their family, relationships, location, past, etc... i just kinda wish more people did it because i think its important to be reminded thats normal and good to do? probably uh, what you should do by default?

growing up in the early age of the internet where privacy was still heavily important, it did have me thinking about that over the years. because it went from 'dont say your name/age/etc' when i was on forums. it took quite a few more years for photos of myself online became normal- 2010 at least, since thats when instagram came out, but i still had my gen 3 ipod touch with no camera for a while.

but eventually, instagram was what pulled in more urges to share personal details- sometimes my real name in relation to my account because thats what people were doing- it was like facebook. it was also a platform that i started to find communities for emotional venting where id join in on posting quite personal things related to mental health. around that time, aged 12-14 was where that detailed emotional posting really picked up and while it didnt exactly include loads of private data, its still stuff that really should not have been sitting around online.

it didnt end there of course. tumblr came in soon enough and i think above all, tumblr really broke any idea of privacy. the culture of validation and needing to state everything about yourself in order to be allowed to say anything without being deemed problematic... the DNIs and the trigger lists... and still, vent communities kept feeding the need to throw personal as hell thoughts onto a public blog.

then of course there is the present day adult- where you stably just keep a set amount of details on your profile for "work opportunities" or whatever. no big deal....

id often cringe, not at the content or feelings, but just with this feeling of "man. i wish i didnt do that- i wish i stayed more private". but something i have learned and realized- i can just... delete it. and i know, i know- i like to keep things alive. i like for the old web and my old accounts to exist so i can look back. i have my backups, dont worry. but really, truly-- as a "nobody" on the internet, not someone popular or worth noticing, i can just delete all that nonsense. i can control it. ive gone and deleted stupidly personal journals on my old DAs and i deleted two of my old tumblrs. everyone says "nothing is truly gone on the internet" and that may be true but again, whos going to give enough of a shit about me to look for it anyways? its unlikely. it doesnt matter in the end. its a sea of nonsense anyways.

while im left with the one last emotionally personal web profile of mine being on Spore, something i will never be able to clear out lol, i feel a bit better realizing i may be able to present myself with more privacy online... its not important for people to know so much.