The internet knows no sorry - Kobina Ansah

To err, they say, is human. To forgive, thankfully, is divine… not the internet. The internet never forgets! No matter how long it may take, it would one day still cough it out. Well… the internet takes no apologies. Social media has come to stay.

The internet is here for good and that’s why someone should be worried. As long as we will be here on this Earth, we will have internet… and that’s why we should keep our conscience in check. What we do today which we may forget may never be forgotten by the internet. What we may not take seriously today may be taken seriously by the internet tomorrow because the internet never forgets!

I observe many young women flaunt their almost nude bodies on social media and I know most of us are still not learning our lessons well enough. At least, we should have learnt recently from Melania Trump and how her leaked nude photos which were taken as far back as 1995 almost trumped her Donald Trump! Between 1995 and 2016 is a whopping 21 years. Yes. But… the internet never forgot.

Don’t belittle your today if you have no idea what the future holds for you because the internet has one unforgiving memory. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot with any post today that may stand in your way tomorrow should the internet cough it out.

When I see some young people today put naked pictures of theirs on social media, I just shake my head in disgust. I wonder if others understand the future implications of sharing their sex tapes wherever. Do these know their future husbands, wives and even children may see them many years from today? When people slander others (in the name of politics) on the social media with little or no evidence, I just observe in awe. Do they know their potential employers or investors may just dig such up someday? A decade or two from now, do such know the internet may just betray them?

The internet is like fire. On one hand, it is a good servant. On the other hand, it can be a pretty bad master. It will never forget whatever you whisper to it. Years may pass. Decades may, too. However, whatever you inscribe on the internet is cast in stone. Whatever picture (nude or clothed) you put there is posted with indelible ink. It may just give you out someday.

The internet knows no apology. Whatever you put out there today may come haunting you tomorrow. That silly comment. That body shaming. Those unnecessary political gymnastics of an insult. Your employer tomorrow may just refer to them.

Many of us have had doors leading to great opportunities slammed in our faces because of one misconduct or the other on social media. The internet, for Heaven’s sake, is a virtual world. There’s no privacy even when you have all the money to buy it. Anything we share no longer becomes ours… but everyone’s. If it is privacy you want, social media and the internet is exactly not where to share what.

It can be akin to staying in a compound house and craving for privacy. Hell no! Whatever you cook, everyone knows. Whatever you pound… is no secret. When you take your bath outside in the clear open, it is your headache! And… that is what it seems like when we post just anything on social media or via any internet platform. Mind you, the internet will hold on tightly to whatever you will send to it. If there’s any forgiving to do, however, it will have no hand in it.

You may have turned over a new leaf. Yes. You may have sincerely regretted but… the internet takes no apology. Whatever you put out there stays there. To forgive is divine and the internet is not divine. It knows no sorry! Don’t go sharing your bedroom escapades on the internet. It may just be replayed to you at your interview session for your promotion at work. Don’t go ridiculing others for your pleasure on social media. That one act may stand in your way many years to come. The internet will betray you. It can’t keep secrets. Whatever you share with it, it will share with the world if not sooner… later.

That laureate may be denied you because of one silly act of a post. Your hard work and toil may just be washed down the drain because of one nude picture. Your integrity may just sublime because of a rant you made on social media several years back. Before you post, think and rethink because the internet will never forgive if there’s any apology to be made. You may have repented but sadly, it is no Christian.

Before you go brandishing your breasts on Instagram in the name of some “no bra day”, remember your grandchildren may ask you someday. Don’t be young and silly! Before you go dishing out your bathroom pictures on WhatsApp in the name of romance, remember they may get into the hands of your yet-to-be mother-in-law someday. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot!

Before you do, think. Before you press “send”, rethink. Everyone may forgive you but the internet indeed knows no apology. Don’t just send anything. No matter how long it may take, the internet will never lose its memory. Have a tactful weekend friends.

The writer is a playwright and the Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications, a writing company in Accra (www.scribecommltd.com).