With the increased popularity of online communities, the internet has become a warzone of hatred and arguments, with the sharing of personal information becoming the chosen jab in the pursuit of “winning.”
Acts of empathy are far less common, now replaced with harsh insults, callouts and even harassment. Not to mention the ever-growing belief in the effectiveness of “cancel culture.”
Maintaining mental sanctity in a time already shrouded with uncertainty and negativity is hard enough, but the added stress of navigating the twists and turns of digital societies makes things just a little bit harder for everyone.
With the development of social media platforms and growing widespread internet access, doxxing has become far more common than in previous years of the internet. In 2024, around 4% of United States residents, approximately 11 million people, reported they had been victims of a doxxing attack.
Doxxing, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is an act performed to “publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge.”
This action is done for a number of reasons, namely in online fights, but can also be done as a result of personal disputes, financial schemes or as an act of discrimination.
While in some cases, doxxing is seen as a negative response in retaliation to petty online disagreements, it has its benefits in the way of accountability. For example, the X account @YesYoureRacist used doxxing to condemn the white nationalists that marched in the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
On Aug. 13, 2017, the X account posted that the first attendee “exposed,” Cole White, resigned after being publicly called out and being confronted by his employer regarding his participation in the rally.
In a case like White’s, his participation in the rally had a drastic effect on his life. His expression of such a controversial opinion led to the loss of his job — in similar cases to this one, it opens up the possibility of harassment and doxxing, furthermore exacerbating the need to keep some thoughts internal.
However, doxxing isn’t the only reason why people should watch their demeanor online. Misconduct on social media can have impacts on job opportunities, success in the business world and college or scholarship opportunities.
A person’s digital footprint, the accumulation of digital data about an individual’s activities, preferences and online behavior, can have a large impact on various future opportunities.
Someone’s digital footprint can be collected from various social media websites, search engines, shopping websites and public readers. However, most university workers, scholarship providers and employers exclusively look into someone’s conduct on social media.
Employers often check potential hires’ social media accounts for inappropriate images or information, various discriminatory comments or negative comments made about their previous company or coworkers.
It is not just social media conduct that can risk your future educational, professional or job opportunities. As evidenced by White’s abrupt unemployment for his participation in the Virginia rally, political affiliation has the potential to have a large influence on current or later possibilities for employment.
According to a survey performed on 233 hiring managers by the American Psychological Association, political affiliation-related information can decrease the chance they will hire job applicants.
The public sharing of political information, regardless of party or belief, is a risky action. An action that can change a life before someone has even had the chance to begin it, all the more reason to keep political ideologies off of professional accounts, or private in general.
One of the best ways to avoid sabotaging college, job or scholarship opportunities is by shifting the focus back onto the basics of internet safety, especially in a world made up of digital communications and privacy negligence.
Public accounts are significantly easier to access in comparison to those that are private, so establishing a private account is best. Avoid sharing personal information — including information about where you live, daily schedule, travel plans or the time spent alone.
Sharing private information, especially on a public account, opens users up to a variety of safety risks. However, even private accounts aren’t necessarily an impenetrable shield against those who are insistent upon accessing personal data.
Private social media accounts can be accessed, but the possession of a court order is usually needed. However, this doesn’t mean privating an account is completely foolproof against background checks. Each social media platform has a different set of guidelines for private account access.
The risks of sharing personal beliefs or public information, even on a private account, aren’t worth it. Not to mention the chance of ending up in a similar situation to that of White.
Even perceived anonymity provides little defense against the ever-lingering threat of traceable, online trails. Anonymous posting does not always guarantee privacy, with over half of internet users going as far as to say it is impossible to be completely anonymous online. And to an extent, they’re right.
In public spaces, anonymity is an autonomous decision — motivated by the personal comfort in choosing to identify yourself or not. However, online, it is not so simple.
In order to maintain online communications, access of personal information is necessary, at least to a degree. What internet service providers a person has, as well as their IP address, is readily accessible data — available to more than just the ones providing the social media platform.
The sheer amount of information that has become accessible just by being present on an app is far more than what it used to be. This opens up the possibility of any degree of interaction leaving a user vulnerable to various invasions of privacy.
All activities online, even those perceived as anonymous by the poster, can be traced, leading to potential identification. Internet companies have a large range of access to user information, easily being able to name ones who believed their anonymity was secure. This means the average person can easily access anyone else’s information, too.
This delves back into the realm of doxxing. If someone simply decides they wish to access others’ information, they are privy to it. Even some voting data is publicly available to an ordinary individual.
There, unfortunately, isn’t a foolproof solution to maintain personal safety when living a day-to-day life. Even if someone wasn’t active on any forms of social media, basic data about voting, employment history, photos and videos, criminal records and media coverage is all publicly searchable information.
The best way to avoid having public information shared is to avoid giving others a potential reason to share it. Avoid starting online arguments, sharing political opinions that may risk backlash or provoking someone in a way that may cause unwarranted, adverse reactions.
Our society becomes interwoven with online spaces every day, and maintaining a safe environment becomes less and less accomplishable. With each step media takes into the world of technology, privacy and individual sanctity becomes a sacrifice as a result. However, by returning the emphasis onto forgotten internet safety practices, public welfare in ever-developing online spaces may begin to hold more space than it has in recent years.