For all the communication that has ever transpired on the Internet, whether puerile or innocent, cannot be erased from the Internet. The adorable “LOLcats” were spot on in saying “what has been seen cannot be unseen” (or something like that).

Good point here by milkymalk. While technically untrue (all the data on the internet exists physically somewhere and is subject to eradication), in theory the things we say and do here really do seem to persist. If you’ve ever given your Facebook profile a “haircut” in advance of a job interview or a first date, you’re part of a generation that will periodically have to reconsider how much of its online persona it wants to reveal or conceal.