Whatever you put online is free game — it’s callow to assume no one can see or utilize what goes on your social media profiles, private or not.
Collin MacKechnie, a 15-year-old child actor located in Vancouver, Canada, had a fake Twitter account made about him without his knowledge.
Pictures of Collin and his family surfaced, along with personal details that seemingly only he would know.
Once this situation was handled, the question remained: What made this account more innappropriate than a parody celebrity account?
Accounts such as @Bill_Nye__Tho and @timtebow316 are obvious spoof profiles providing followers with humor, while the fake MacKechnie account had no desire to be funny — only to mess with his reputation.
There is a difference, though, between an anonymous account embodying a celebrity and an account used to air your dirty laundry in a “private” manner.
It’s important to maintain a hidden identity if you decide to partake in this world of anons on Twitter.
Hinting to your lifestyle in a way that would give away your identity is a naive decision. The point of being anonymous is so you can put anything on your account and not have to worry about the consequences.
Also, there seems to be an obsession among these accounts with what are called “picslips.”
In a picslip, you tweet a photo of yourself and leave it up for a brief period of time. That way, only those who are checking their accounts at that time will get to see who you truly are.
This makes no sense.
Most of these accounts are filled with personal and sexual tweets, most of which contain information the majority of society would think are too private to reveal to the public eye.
So then why do these people feel the need to blow their covers?
The thrill of saying whatever you want sans responsibility is probably what motivates this culture of anons. No name equals no consequences.
Just because you don’t have an identity tied to an account does not make it appropriate to post catty and vindictive tweets.
Additionally, the utilization of the subtweet is tacky and dangerous.
Being passive aggressive might be effective in a one-on-one situation, but when you have hundreds, if not thousands, of followers, it’s possible for the wrong person to assume he or she was the subject of the childish remark.
Don’t forget, your friends who keep up with your account are not dumb enough to ignore a subliminal slash at something they did.
It all comes back to humans treating others online as if they were not human as well.
Since the victim of a negative comment isn’t in the immediate area, there is no instant response to hurtful words. We forget there is a person on the other side of the computer screen.
Lastly, future employers are swarming your social media profiles to see who you are as a person.
Don’t pull a Michel Morganella, the Swiss soccer player who got expelled from the 2012 Olympics for tweeting racist remarks about the South Korean soccer team, and ruin your chances at obtaining your dream job.
Remember that Twitter isn’t your personal journal and anyone is entitled to see what you have to say, positive or not.
Whether you want to create a comical Twitter account for your favorite fictional character, or need an outlet to get your emotions out, be careful what you put online because it never goes away.
