Student Government President Stuart Watkins said he tries to hold himself accountable and cautious of his actions during the Internet media age.”Young individuals need to watch what they do,” he said. “An individual’s actions can come back to portray the person in an unfavorable manor.”Candidates are finding the Internet to be both a blessing and a curse in today’s Internet culture. But growing up in the Internet age will prove difficult for today’s students, who are the future political contenders.Kirby Goidel, political communications professor, said it’s only a matter of time until a candidate will fall victim to his or her past because of the Internet.”The Internet creates a permanent record,” he said. “With pictures or video, you can always hope they stay in safe hands. But with the Internet, it’s hard to delete everything.”Many students are unsure of career goals while in college and don’t think about guarding against potentially harmful information posted online, he said.Watkins said he plans to be involved with politics later in life, but he’s not concerned with the impact his present life will have on the future. But he said he’s always watching his actions.”I haven’t had to deal with negative information on the Internet so far,” he said. “I’m a student first, but I always keep a professional manner.”Wesley Orr, international studies freshman, said he takes caution in what is posted to the Internet because of future implications. He said as more companies are searching applicants’ Facebook pages, it’s even more important to guard against unwanted information.”I wouldn’t want my kids searching the Internet and finding embarrassing information,” he said. “Most things online never go away.”Brandon Hick, biological sciences senior, said there is no way to control what is posted to the Internet, therefore it shouldn’t control a person’s life.”You should act the way you normally act,” he said. “You should be comfortable with your actions anyway, so it shouldn’t matter what people post about you.”Melanie Oubre, College Democrats president, said the Internet will add another dimension to political races, just like TV and radio.”Everyone will be in the same boat,” she said. “There will be a general understanding that the past is the past. Anything that pops up on the Internet will be seen as a mistake the candidate made when he or she was younger.”Oubre said she has not had problems with harmful information posted to the Internet, but she said it’s important to guard against what is posted because of future consequences.”It’s an interesting topic, but only the future will tell what will happen,” she said.Goidel said the first few candidates to have harmful past information dug up through the Internet will suffer politically. But he said based on past scandals, as more candidates are subjected to scrutiny for college days, the general public will be more forgiving of past events.The Internet adds positive and negative aspects to an overall campaign, Goidel said. The Web is a means for campaign leaders and supporters to get more information to voters, but more supporters posting information could cause campaigns to lose control of what’s posted, creating a less tight campaign, he said.”We’re in for a period of time where people who have grown up with the Internet think information has disappeared,” he said. “But eventually, it will resurface.” 
—-Contact Steven Powell at [email protected]