If recent news has been any indicator, we are becoming an increasingly digitized and virtualized culture, with one glaring and fatal flaw: our inability to realize how vulnerable our real lives are to the impact of our fingerprint.

Look at Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, whose life has been changed by the discovery of text messages he sent to a romantic partner (who turned out not to be his wife). Or consider Arlington Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, “… who was ousted from office last month after she posted unrestricted pictures of herself in lingerie on her MySpace page,” according to the New York Times, Susan Dominus. (When asked why she posted such personal photos of herself on such a popular public website, she replied, “It’s my space,” indicating an internet naivety that is both quaint and hideously out of touch. for someone in a public office.)

If there is one modern catchphrase that we should all take seriously on this matter, it is this: The Internet is forever.

Unfortunately, that’s something that many of us, especially those in our 20s, don’t fully internalize. That’s what happened to Mayor Kilpatrick, who apparently thought erasing his messages from his PDA was enough to erase them from digital reality entirely. The same goes for former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who simply did not understand the ease with which his shady financial deals (all of which are mediated via Internet connections between the point of purchase, his accounting houses, financial institutions and any other places these days) could be tracked, compared and exposed.

The current generation is most at risk. It is not unusual for teens and young adults to post images on their MySpace pages, YouTube videos, or blog posts that show them passed out drunk, using illegal drugs, engaging in questionable actions, etc. Many don’t realize the impact these public displays of bad judgment will have on future employers, college admissions boards, and even potential peers. And simply deleting or deleting the images and posts does not provide protection. Sites like the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) (aka the Wayback Machine) and search engines continually cache copies of old pages, preserving those embarrassing or incriminating images for posterity.

In a world of nearly ubiquitous Internet access, nearly permanent digital content, and nearly complete archives of cyberspace history, the concept of digital hygiene is increasingly important.

Here are some things to remember:

1. As I mentioned, the Internet is forever. If you upload, post, share, or post it, it’s likely there until the last server goes down. Deleting copies at your end gets you nowhere. A corollary of this rule is that if you can hurt or embarrass you, count on someone to find you at the worst possible time. Rule of thumb: never post anything that you don’t want your grandmother, your boss, or your worst enemy to see.

2. Anyone can find anything. With enough time, access, and interest, a motivated seeker can find anything that is or has been publicly or legally available (and hackers can find everything else). Assume that anything, including email, text messages, purchases, financial transactions, personal data, images, etc., is public, searchable, and can be found no matter how well you feel it has been. covered his tracks or how anonymous he thinks he is.

3. Practice self-search regularly. Google yourself and see what comes up. Check out the Internet Archive and see for yourself how much of your previous cyber life is still available for public search. Take note to be aware of what is available about you and how you plan to address it if it arises.

As a last resort, you can sometimes remove harmful content from some search engines or databases. But don’t count on this to save your bacon if you’ve been naughty. All copies of all sources will never be deleted. Your best course of action is to simply behave yourself and stop assuming that because you are one of the millions of Internet users that you will somehow get lost in the crowd. The Internet can be a very busy place, but it is also an open and very public place. And if you’re wandering around naked with a beer bong strapped to your head, someone will notice.