Many of us treat Twitter like something between an online diary and a professional platform. There's article sharing, and maybe some fact checking, but it's all mixed in with inane commentary on our daily lives. In the age of doxxing, everything you put on the internet can be held against you in the court of public opinion—and plenty of semi-public figures, like Sarah Jeong, have suffered from this intense scrutiny of online history.VICE reporter Eve Peyser decided to look into her own Twitter history at a time when one single sentence can derail your entire career. An avid Twitter user averaging 35 tweets a day, she found that what were previously meant as mundane jokes or pointless political asides now seemed petty and, at times, unnecessarily negative. As she deleted questionable posts, she realized that "being an asshole online, whether it’s tagging the target of your wrath or subtly hinting at the identity of whoever you’re bashing, can make you seem unhinged and sickly."You can catch The VICE Guide to Right Now Podcast on Acast, Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. And sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.
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