Let’s not pretend we haven’t all posted something and cringed later. Teens today are no different, except they’re posting way more, and way younger, on five different apps at once. Here are ten things that may seem harmless for teens to post now, but fast-forward a few years, and they might regret it. Which one do you think is the worst?
Featured Image Credit: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock.com.
Vague Posts About “Fake Friends”
Dropping a cryptic post about how “some people are snakes,” without saying who it’s about, is a classic teen decision. But years later, no one remembers the drama, and now, it just makes you look like the dramatic one. It made everyone think it was about them, even your grandma. That’s rather messy for something you probably forgot by the next day.
Screenshots of Private Conversations
People think cropping out the name is enough, but the truth is that people know exactly who said what when you post screenshots of private conversations. While it might be funny in the moment, that stuff lives on. It only takes one person to connect the dots before you’ve burned a bridge over a joke that stopped being funny two weeks ago. Is it really worth it?
TikToks Pretending to Be Drunk Or High
Making a goofy video acting totally “wasted” for likes does get views. But someone screenshotting it without sound or context takes away the idea of comedy and replaces it with bad judgment. Just imagine trying to explain that to a college or even your grandma. Perhaps you should keep your acting career off TikTok for now.
Rants About Teachers By Name
Many teens think that dragging their teacher on Instagram with their full name tagged feels like sweet revenge for giving them a C. However, the truth is that teachers Google students, too, and so do colleges. And guess what’s not a great look on your digital record? Calling Mr. Tran a “walking headache” in 10th grade.
Complaints About a Job They Just Got
Day one on the job, and some teens are already tweeting about how much they hate their workplace, even though that’s not exactly the smartest idea. Employers look at social media more often than many teens realize, and they’ll see every snarky post about the dress code or the boss. It could get them fired before they even learn how to clock in.
Stories Where They’re “Just Being Honest” About People They Know
Look, if you start a post with “not trying to be shady but…” you’re definitely being shady, and posting these callouts doesn’t make you look honest. If anything, it makes you look petty. You can also count on the fact that any screenshots will get passed around. It may seem private to you, but for how long?
Asking Strangers on Live Streams for Money
You’ll see people going live, asking for other people to CashApp them, or people on TikTok asking for gifts. It’s awkward behavior, and it sticks around. Someone could’ve screen-recorded you, and later on, they could bring it up when you least expect it. Kind of hard to explain this begging when it wasn’t even serious.
Recording a Stranger Without Their Permission
There’s always someone trying to have the next viral video by filming strangers doing literally nothing. Maybe the person looked confused or was dancing badly, but either way, teens record it like it’s no big deal. However, posting it just to get a laugh will likely turn ugly. Some people get called out publicly, while others end up with a flagged account they can’t recover.
Sharing Pics of Their Bedroom or House Interior
Posting that room glow-up or setup tour seems fun, until you zoom in and realize your full name’s on the whiteboard in the background. Perhaps your school’s mascot is all over the wall. Even Amazon boxes with address stickers get caught in the frame, and that’s the kind of stuff people regret when they get older. They wish they didn’t share all their private details.
Making Edits of People They’re Obsessed With
There’s always that one person who makes a dramatic video edit of their crush set to a moody Lana Del Rey song. Sometimes it’s someone famous, but other times it’s a kid in your science class, or worse, your teacher. Once a teen posts the video, it spreads quickly, and then the person themselves might see it. That’s when things get really uncomfortable.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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