In recent times, sharing an opinion online can feel a little scary. It’s not like having a casual chat with a friend, where words fade once the conversation ends. On the internet, what you post can stick around forever. There’s no real “rough draft” online once you hit publish, that draft becomes permanent.
This has reshaped the way people express themselves. Many hold back, worried about being misunderstood or judged years down the line. Others carefully craft an online persona, making sure every word is polished, safe, and “acceptable.” This caution also raises questions. Are we losing the freedom to speak honestly? Are we trading authenticity for safety? Maybe the challenge is finding a balance recognizing that our words matter, but also remembering that people are allowed to learn and change our political opinions. However, since social media is designed to create closed ended statements with no open dialogue, this can be presumed as an issue.
We’ve also seen examples of “cancel culture,” in the media where celebrities, influencers, and even everyday people face backlash for something they posted from years ago. This also led to many of those people losing sponsorships or roles after old posts resurfaced. While accountability is important, it raises a question of, where do we draw the line between holding someone responsible and allowing them to grow from their mistakes?
What does this mean for us? It means every thought we share has weight, whether we realize it or not. Whether it’s a post made in frustration, a joke that doesn’t land, or even an opinion we later outgrow can later be used against us. The internet doesn’t give space for change or growth because it freezes a moment in time and makes it searchable for others to see. Essentially our past mistakes or posts online can eventually be part of our “identity” or our internet persona. Mike Allton says in his article The Dangers of Being Too Political on Social Media (marketingprofs.com), political jokes or commentary can create distance with friends and followers, and even damage professional reputations. To prevent this from happening in the future, Allton suggests using privacy settings or tailoring posts to smaller audiences as a way to save our authenticity and privacy. Being cautious of what people put online is also a way to protect integrity. With all this in mind, how can we curate spaces for people to openly share discourse online without it being used against them? In particular, how can we curate spaces for people of color to find community, or spaces for White people to learn about becoming more anti-racist?