Should We Be Held Accountable for Old Tweets? A Generational Debate

Social media has connected the world like never before. But our tweets, posts, and shares created years ago remain visible, often to our dismay. For digital natives entering the workplace, online reputations precede them, whether good, bad, or embarrassingly immature. Millennials feel this acutely as the first generation to come of age alongside social media. Born between 1981–1996, their adolescence played out on MySpace and early Facebook. Today, those cringey posts follow thirtysomethings applying for jobs, loans, or schools.

But Gen Z, born after 1996, faces even greater accountability for youthful digital footprints. They have no memory of a world before smartphones and oversharing. Some had Instagram by middle school. So while their elders lament careless high school tweets, today’s teens face scrutiny over childhood posts.

This generational dynamic frames an evolving debate: Should we face consequences for social media histories we can’t erase? Was it naïve to ever assume tweets disappear? Or is it unjust for past posts—often from minor ages—to resurface years later?

Tools like TweetEraser now exist to help people regain control over their digital past, allowing them to curate what remains public. In a world where an impulsive post can haunt years later, these solutions offer a measure of agency—and perhaps, redemption.

Examining the employer’s perspective first reveals why this issue keeps surfacing...

Why Companies Review Candidates’ Twitter Histories

Employers argue that vetting applicants’ social media achieves two goals: protecting brand reputation and assessing character.

Brand Protection

In the era of cancel culture and viral outrage, who represents a company matters greatly. If employees openly share racist, sexist, or offensive views online, customers will judge the business. Recent examples like Adidas’ partnership with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West show how toxic personal brands infect commercial ones.

Character Assessment

Social profiles offer insight into candidates’ judgment, ethics, and personality beyond their resumes. If a hopeful hires once shared illegal behavior publicly, hiring managers may reasonably question their maturity or integrity.

Of course, fairness and common sense should prevail in reviewing past posts. Teenagers and college students don’t have fully developed prefrontal cortices. Their social media activity often reflects peer pressure, not their true selves.

What’s deemed inappropriate online constantly evolves, too. An edgy joke that raised eyebrows five years back might be considered harmless today.

Still, while companies could review context more carefully, they argue social media vetting guards their interests overall.

Why Young Generations Consider It Unfair

Digital natives counter that being forever judged for past social media activity is unreasonable, for several reasons.

Teen Brains Are Still Developing

Scientists note the prefrontal cortex, governing complex decision-making, doesn’t fully mature until around 25 years old. So, holding teens permanently accountable for immature social posts made before complete brain development seems unjust.

Online Norms Keep Shifting

Cultural standards around appropriate online behavior also continue evolving rapidly. What seemed acceptable even five years ago—like edgy jokes or insensitive language—might not align with today’s norms. Younger generations argue that judging historical posts by modern yardsticks applies unfair hindsight.

Deletion Doesn’t Guarantee Removal

Younger social media users note they were often assured growing up that deleting online activity wiped the slate clean. In reality, archives exist beyond users’ control. Younger generations feel betrayed by the false perception of impermanence they were raised to believe.

Ultimately, digital natives argue that outdated standards and misleading assumptions make permanent accountability for years-old social media activity unreasonable.

What Does This Mean for Gen Z Entering The Workforce?

As Generation Z graduates from college over the next decade, they’ll navigate much stricter scrutiny over digital footprints than millennials ever expected. Those now in their 30s only faced consequences for early Facebook photo albums full of red Solo cups.

But today’s teens have Instagram accounts dating back to elementary school. Employers concerned over youthful hijinks now have far more data to review. That means Gen Z must wise up to reality quicker regarding social media’s permanence. A few best practices include:

1. Prune accounts routinely. Delete old posts regularly before applying for jobs, schools, etc. Follow social media “hygiene” habits ongoing basis.
2. Tighten past privacy settings. Reduce public access to older posts that no longer represent your views, but can’t be deleted.
3. Assume posts still exist somewhere. Even after deleting tweets or other content, remember archives may remain in the internet’s depths forever. Exercise caution when posting anything questionable publicly.

In other words, Gen Z must become far more vigilant about managing digital footprints. The days of assuming online activity ever disappears are over. Proactivity is essential.

Does This Mean We Should Censor Ourselves Online Entirely?

What about those who argue that social media monitoring enables dangerous censorship? Some critics believe the practice discourages people, especially younger generations, from sharing authentic opinions online out of job market fears.

It’s a valid concern. But the reality is too clear at this point regarding social media’s permanence for expectations to unravel backwards.

Instead, we must push accountability in both directions. Yes, individuals should more carefully consider the public digital trails they leave. But we’re overdue for protections against unreasonable scrutiny over youthful mistakes stored in silicon shadows.

Until laws emerge, assume old tweets and posts don’t disappear. But companies must also set rational standards about what online activity merits judgment down the road.

There are no easy fixes. But with understanding and maturity on all sides, we can strike the right balance between responsibility and forgiveness.