I agree. I am ashamed at some of the things I used to think and believe when I was a young kid. Sometimes society has a way of forming our opinions for us and not until we have a chance to experience life for ourselves can we take an objective look at things and realize what is right and wrong. I'm glad there wasn't the Internet out there that I might have actually put those thoughts in writing. I think to some extent a young person should not be held accountable for what they think and say when they are still learning but that's not always the case.
Trace Cohen
· 3 months ago
This is a great day, a president who finally know what is going on! I love it!
Great message though and something that will affect millions of young professionals, thank you very much Obama! Anything online is permanent so please be careful about what you say and do.
Haumea
· 3 months ago
Geez, what's next? Praise for Obama's powerful insight that kids should eat their veggies and floss their teeth before bed?
Methinks this fits into the "common sense" category these days.
Trace Cohen
· 3 months ago
You would think so right? I can show you countless stories were people got fired for pictures and comments on facebook. Common sense isn't that common sadly...
Rana
· 3 months ago
I'm weary of anyone with a squeaky-clean past -- anyone claiming such is full of it.
Tom
· 3 months ago
I'm liking the advice!! I'm definitely going to remember that!
sluggahjells
· 3 months ago
That's well said Adam.
bre123
· 3 months ago
I highly disagree. In the future, a "true" facebook profile will be an asset to someone running for president. Not one where "extreme discretion"- in terms of content is necessary. Facebook shows reality, this is what we should see when we choose a president.
Brent Logan
· 3 months ago
Why? Is it safer to make a bunch of admissions about drug use in an autobiography instead? Seems that we give people passes for youthful (and sometimes not so youthful) indiscretions. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just pointing out what I see.
But yeah, be careful what you post online... :-)
Jim Webber
· 3 months ago
Yeah this is probably the most hilarious thing I've read in a while. They learned their lesson the hard way (Van Commie Jones), and I think that's GREAT!!!
DustyReagan
· 3 months ago
The future of politics will go 1 of 2 ways. 1. we'll get highly charismatic real people in office that speak their mind and the public eats it up. Or 2. we'll get people who are masters of deceit, hiding their past, and PR. I think we'll see more of number 1 because hiding one's past and true sentiments is becoming harder and harder, and we'll have better leaders due to it.
Haumea
· 3 months ago
Or 3:
Will get highly charismatic people who are masters of deceit.
Oh wait, that's the present.
StayBankdotCOM
· 3 months ago
I would be careful about anything posted on the InterNet even if you just want to be a Czar! Anything radical you may have said, can come back to haunt you. I mean if you said you were a Marxist Communist last year, people might notice and wonder how you suddenly were given a powerful position.
henryjennings
· 3 months ago
Too bad Van Jones didn't hear about this kind of thing a while back lol
iTbay
· 3 months ago
slamming a kegger in a pic will be a generally accepted praticse in 2040 lol
Jason Rukus
· 3 months ago
The DUI numbers for the Senate and Congress are as high as George Bush was in college. So now we have people unqualified to make character judgements using methods not scientifically proven to be effective. This helps us how exactly?
Ryan Lalonde
· 3 months ago
It's pretty much true. Anything you do on the internet today is likely archived for someone to view tomorrow.
Sai Bharadwaj
· 3 months ago
Perfectly said statement.
edhowes
· 3 months ago
No one in their right mind wants to be president.
tuneinturnoff
· 3 months ago
Wonderfully sound advice. No one wants an elected official that, in their past, posed for stupid, drunken, or provocative photos. Just ask Palin. Posting it on a social networking site just makes it that much more accessible.
teamnirvana
· 3 months ago
Hope in India we do not have thins kind of prodigy to dig up politician's earlier lives as of now. But, in the future when I reach 45, this might happen.
facebook-700721156
· 3 months ago
In other words: Kids, it's ok to do all the wrong things you want, just make sure you are not caught.
Name
· 3 months ago
"Decade's worth?" Who told you that you use an apostrophe to make a plural?
Levi Lenaerts
· 3 months ago
that's a good statement from Obama. But some people might get paranoid by reading this.
عمر بن يعروف
· 3 months ago
He has a point.
Kevin Cooper
· 3 months ago
More importantly, just have integrity as a person, then you won't have to worry about what you posted in your history.
merdac
· 3 months ago
I agree Obama is the Best, and I'm not even from the US. But can anybody say .."Google Wave" ?!
merdac
· 3 months ago
It doesn't matter in the next 40 years, all the trash people have been hashing, over the past few years will only increase , and even the most cheapest storage in the world will not warrant backing it all up. So an important point is not to write something you'll regret, to a reputable publication, like NYT or mashable. All the trash thats been written in the early 19th century has already passed for bonfire fodder.
Jeremy Campbell
· 3 months ago
Our world is only going to get more social and connected so this is some good advice for sure. Social media can either work for or against you, it's all up to you on how you use it.
bustedkeys
· 2 months ago
it's interesting of Obama to choose paranoia over a more hopeful view on the youth and their use of social media. i for one am of the position that most, if not everybody, carries around a certain level of baggage. and one's character, by the time they've become president for example, would be judged on their evolution of character and development of maturity rather than based on past mistakes, embarrassments, et al. people make mistakes and if it shows up on the social media sites, let's judge them on how well they have learned and recovered, not solely on errors and pigeonholing them.
All Comments
Great message though and something that will affect millions of young professionals, thank you very much Obama! Anything online is permanent so please be careful about what you say and do.
Methinks this fits into the "common sense" category these days.
But yeah, be careful what you post online... :-)
Will get highly charismatic people who are masters of deceit.
Oh wait, that's the present.
But can anybody say .."Google Wave" ?!
So an important point is not to write something you'll regret, to a reputable publication, like NYT or mashable. All the trash thats been written in the early 19th century has already passed for bonfire fodder.