Extra Credit Post

For my extra credit blog post, I wanted to go back to the concept of the "Right to be Forgotten." Before I took this class I always figured the Internet was like a black hole, once information and pictures has fallen into it, there is no retrieving it or reversing it. What is done is done.

I grew up in a technological age where everybody was warned about what they should and should not be sharing on the Internet. I feel like everybody's parents told them numerous times not to swear online or post party pictures or anything that might be embarrassing to your future self. The hard thing about receiving good parental advice as a teenager is it makes you want to not listen to it even more. I don't know why young teenager minds operate this way, but unfortunately they do. Whether you were a rebellious teen posting a party picture holding a red solo cup or you were simply the awkward photo bomber that accidentally got caught in the corner of the picture, those are still pictures that could alter your future.

It would be nice to have a 'refresh' button when these type of circumstances occur. It would be nice to be able to erase a party picture from 10 years ago from the Internet because this picture from your teenage years may not even accurately reflect the type of person you are now. If a potential employer googled your name and found 'party pictures' there is a large possibility they will associate you with the night life scene and that may not be the type of person they are interested in employing. When in all reality, you may now be a home body who watches Netflix with your friends and dog and rarely even goes out.

This is a circumstance where the "Right to be Forgotten" policy would be a helpful option to have. Allowing individuals to have control over their online identities seems like a far fetched idea in this day age, but it shouldn't be. Everybody should be entitled to have control over the information that circulates on the web that regards them, and that is why I'm in favor of the "Right to be Forgotten" policy.