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Googling my name reveals silly things from when I was younger. I am embarassed. How will this affect me in my future academic career?
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I am a masters student at one of the top two universities in the UK and will be applying for PhD positions soon. When I google my (unique) name, the first few results are what you'd expect, my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and some university web pages.
However if you keep scrolling and go through the pages of Google's search results, you see some silly forum posts from when I was 12-14 years old, and some poorly written Yahoo Answers questions from the same time. I am now 22 so this was almost 10 years ago.
I know it's stupid but when I was that age no one really taught me how to use the internet properly and so ended up using my full name in a number of places.
I've not written anything offensive and my name isn't on anything objectively bad, but it's just childish silliness (memes, poorly written stories, Yahoo Answers nonsense, and just weird forum posts) and I'm a bit embarrassed to be honest. I feel like as I continue to progress academically, it will become more likely that people will Google me and see all this which might make it likely that I will be judged. Again, it's nothing offensive or objectionable just old young teenager stuff. Benign but embarrassing.
Should I just ignore it and hope that as my career develops these old results get pushed further back in Google's search results? Should I try to remove this stuff from the internet (very difficult as I have lost all these old accounts)?
The stuff I posted back then has little to nothing to do with who I am now professionally, and I would hate for people to think it is. Having a unique name does seem like a curse sometimes and I have made it worse by being extra foolish when I was young.
career-path early-career personal-name
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
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qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
I am a masters student at one of the top two universities in the UK and will be applying for PhD positions soon. When I google my (unique) name, the first few results are what you'd expect, my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and some university web pages.
However if you keep scrolling and go through the pages of Google's search results, you see some silly forum posts from when I was 12-14 years old, and some poorly written Yahoo Answers questions from the same time. I am now 22 so this was almost 10 years ago.
I know it's stupid but when I was that age no one really taught me how to use the internet properly and so ended up using my full name in a number of places.
I've not written anything offensive and my name isn't on anything objectively bad, but it's just childish silliness (memes, poorly written stories, Yahoo Answers nonsense, and just weird forum posts) and I'm a bit embarrassed to be honest. I feel like as I continue to progress academically, it will become more likely that people will Google me and see all this which might make it likely that I will be judged. Again, it's nothing offensive or objectionable just old young teenager stuff. Benign but embarrassing.
Should I just ignore it and hope that as my career develops these old results get pushed further back in Google's search results? Should I try to remove this stuff from the internet (very difficult as I have lost all these old accounts)?
The stuff I posted back then has little to nothing to do with who I am now professionally, and I would hate for people to think it is. Having a unique name does seem like a curse sometimes and I have made it worse by being extra foolish when I was young.
career-path early-career personal-name
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
4
Hi! You wrote that if someone "go through the pages of Google's search results". People reviewing PhD application, and people in academia in general, are busy, and they click on the first link and don't scroll down. Don't worry about it, especially if it's just "silly" and not plain racist, violent or such.
– Clément
1 hour ago
My name is not unique. While I do come up on the first page of google results, so does a historian and a felon (and older posts that were not well thought out come up a couple of pages later). This is a nearly universal problem.
– TimothyAWiseman
29 secs ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
I am a masters student at one of the top two universities in the UK and will be applying for PhD positions soon. When I google my (unique) name, the first few results are what you'd expect, my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and some university web pages.
However if you keep scrolling and go through the pages of Google's search results, you see some silly forum posts from when I was 12-14 years old, and some poorly written Yahoo Answers questions from the same time. I am now 22 so this was almost 10 years ago.
I know it's stupid but when I was that age no one really taught me how to use the internet properly and so ended up using my full name in a number of places.
I've not written anything offensive and my name isn't on anything objectively bad, but it's just childish silliness (memes, poorly written stories, Yahoo Answers nonsense, and just weird forum posts) and I'm a bit embarrassed to be honest. I feel like as I continue to progress academically, it will become more likely that people will Google me and see all this which might make it likely that I will be judged. Again, it's nothing offensive or objectionable just old young teenager stuff. Benign but embarrassing.
Should I just ignore it and hope that as my career develops these old results get pushed further back in Google's search results? Should I try to remove this stuff from the internet (very difficult as I have lost all these old accounts)?
The stuff I posted back then has little to nothing to do with who I am now professionally, and I would hate for people to think it is. Having a unique name does seem like a curse sometimes and I have made it worse by being extra foolish when I was young.
career-path early-career personal-name
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I am a masters student at one of the top two universities in the UK and will be applying for PhD positions soon. When I google my (unique) name, the first few results are what you'd expect, my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and some university web pages.
However if you keep scrolling and go through the pages of Google's search results, you see some silly forum posts from when I was 12-14 years old, and some poorly written Yahoo Answers questions from the same time. I am now 22 so this was almost 10 years ago.
I know it's stupid but when I was that age no one really taught me how to use the internet properly and so ended up using my full name in a number of places.
I've not written anything offensive and my name isn't on anything objectively bad, but it's just childish silliness (memes, poorly written stories, Yahoo Answers nonsense, and just weird forum posts) and I'm a bit embarrassed to be honest. I feel like as I continue to progress academically, it will become more likely that people will Google me and see all this which might make it likely that I will be judged. Again, it's nothing offensive or objectionable just old young teenager stuff. Benign but embarrassing.
Should I just ignore it and hope that as my career develops these old results get pushed further back in Google's search results? Should I try to remove this stuff from the internet (very difficult as I have lost all these old accounts)?
The stuff I posted back then has little to nothing to do with who I am now professionally, and I would hate for people to think it is. Having a unique name does seem like a curse sometimes and I have made it worse by being extra foolish when I was young.
career-path early-career personal-name
career-path early-career personal-name
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
asked 1 hour ago
qazed1234
261
261
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
qazed1234 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
4
Hi! You wrote that if someone "go through the pages of Google's search results". People reviewing PhD application, and people in academia in general, are busy, and they click on the first link and don't scroll down. Don't worry about it, especially if it's just "silly" and not plain racist, violent or such.
– Clément
1 hour ago
My name is not unique. While I do come up on the first page of google results, so does a historian and a felon (and older posts that were not well thought out come up a couple of pages later). This is a nearly universal problem.
– TimothyAWiseman
29 secs ago
add a comment |Â
4
Hi! You wrote that if someone "go through the pages of Google's search results". People reviewing PhD application, and people in academia in general, are busy, and they click on the first link and don't scroll down. Don't worry about it, especially if it's just "silly" and not plain racist, violent or such.
– Clément
1 hour ago
My name is not unique. While I do come up on the first page of google results, so does a historian and a felon (and older posts that were not well thought out come up a couple of pages later). This is a nearly universal problem.
– TimothyAWiseman
29 secs ago
4
4
Hi! You wrote that if someone "go through the pages of Google's search results". People reviewing PhD application, and people in academia in general, are busy, and they click on the first link and don't scroll down. Don't worry about it, especially if it's just "silly" and not plain racist, violent or such.
– Clément
1 hour ago
Hi! You wrote that if someone "go through the pages of Google's search results". People reviewing PhD application, and people in academia in general, are busy, and they click on the first link and don't scroll down. Don't worry about it, especially if it's just "silly" and not plain racist, violent or such.
– Clément
1 hour ago
My name is not unique. While I do come up on the first page of google results, so does a historian and a felon (and older posts that were not well thought out come up a couple of pages later). This is a nearly universal problem.
– TimothyAWiseman
29 secs ago
My name is not unique. While I do come up on the first page of google results, so does a historian and a felon (and older posts that were not well thought out come up a couple of pages later). This is a nearly universal problem.
– TimothyAWiseman
29 secs ago
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Well, be assured that you are not alone. Things kids do were hidden from view in the past, but no longer. Now your entire life is on view for anyone who looks.
In general, however, as long as what you did or said isn't truly horrible, it will do little more than raise eyebrows or elicit a laugh. People generally realize that we eventually grow up and those older than you, whose background is less visible will look back at their own foibles as well.
But if you bragged at age 15 that you liked to blow up frogs with firecrackers, you might want an explanation for why that isn't the same you anymore.
More generally, however, I think that society needs to take more account of personal privacy, especially for those not yet officially adult. No one seems to have good solutions for that, however, other than parental supervision. Certainly the social media sites have little interest in your privacy when their business model depends on exploiting information about you.
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
European Union privacy rules include certain aspects of the right to be forgotten. I am not an expert on what this means precisely, but it seems to include the right to have search engines remove certain information associated with your name from search results.
Here is another page provided by Google with more information and a form for submitting privacy-based requests for removal of search results. I assume other search engines will have similar procedures in place to comply with the EU rules.
Note that these rules apply in the EU. I suspect the embarrassing results associated with your name will still be available in non-EU countries. See this related recent article where this somewhat controversial issue is discussed.
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
1
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
2
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Relax. No one cares, and no one will judge you on what you said when you were 12. (At least, no one who was ever 12 years old themselves...)
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Well, be assured that you are not alone. Things kids do were hidden from view in the past, but no longer. Now your entire life is on view for anyone who looks.
In general, however, as long as what you did or said isn't truly horrible, it will do little more than raise eyebrows or elicit a laugh. People generally realize that we eventually grow up and those older than you, whose background is less visible will look back at their own foibles as well.
But if you bragged at age 15 that you liked to blow up frogs with firecrackers, you might want an explanation for why that isn't the same you anymore.
More generally, however, I think that society needs to take more account of personal privacy, especially for those not yet officially adult. No one seems to have good solutions for that, however, other than parental supervision. Certainly the social media sites have little interest in your privacy when their business model depends on exploiting information about you.
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
Well, be assured that you are not alone. Things kids do were hidden from view in the past, but no longer. Now your entire life is on view for anyone who looks.
In general, however, as long as what you did or said isn't truly horrible, it will do little more than raise eyebrows or elicit a laugh. People generally realize that we eventually grow up and those older than you, whose background is less visible will look back at their own foibles as well.
But if you bragged at age 15 that you liked to blow up frogs with firecrackers, you might want an explanation for why that isn't the same you anymore.
More generally, however, I think that society needs to take more account of personal privacy, especially for those not yet officially adult. No one seems to have good solutions for that, however, other than parental supervision. Certainly the social media sites have little interest in your privacy when their business model depends on exploiting information about you.
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
Well, be assured that you are not alone. Things kids do were hidden from view in the past, but no longer. Now your entire life is on view for anyone who looks.
In general, however, as long as what you did or said isn't truly horrible, it will do little more than raise eyebrows or elicit a laugh. People generally realize that we eventually grow up and those older than you, whose background is less visible will look back at their own foibles as well.
But if you bragged at age 15 that you liked to blow up frogs with firecrackers, you might want an explanation for why that isn't the same you anymore.
More generally, however, I think that society needs to take more account of personal privacy, especially for those not yet officially adult. No one seems to have good solutions for that, however, other than parental supervision. Certainly the social media sites have little interest in your privacy when their business model depends on exploiting information about you.
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
Well, be assured that you are not alone. Things kids do were hidden from view in the past, but no longer. Now your entire life is on view for anyone who looks.
In general, however, as long as what you did or said isn't truly horrible, it will do little more than raise eyebrows or elicit a laugh. People generally realize that we eventually grow up and those older than you, whose background is less visible will look back at their own foibles as well.
But if you bragged at age 15 that you liked to blow up frogs with firecrackers, you might want an explanation for why that isn't the same you anymore.
More generally, however, I think that society needs to take more account of personal privacy, especially for those not yet officially adult. No one seems to have good solutions for that, however, other than parental supervision. Certainly the social media sites have little interest in your privacy when their business model depends on exploiting information about you.
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
answered 1 hour ago
Buffy
17.9k55798
17.9k55798
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
European Union privacy rules include certain aspects of the right to be forgotten. I am not an expert on what this means precisely, but it seems to include the right to have search engines remove certain information associated with your name from search results.
Here is another page provided by Google with more information and a form for submitting privacy-based requests for removal of search results. I assume other search engines will have similar procedures in place to comply with the EU rules.
Note that these rules apply in the EU. I suspect the embarrassing results associated with your name will still be available in non-EU countries. See this related recent article where this somewhat controversial issue is discussed.
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
1
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
2
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
European Union privacy rules include certain aspects of the right to be forgotten. I am not an expert on what this means precisely, but it seems to include the right to have search engines remove certain information associated with your name from search results.
Here is another page provided by Google with more information and a form for submitting privacy-based requests for removal of search results. I assume other search engines will have similar procedures in place to comply with the EU rules.
Note that these rules apply in the EU. I suspect the embarrassing results associated with your name will still be available in non-EU countries. See this related recent article where this somewhat controversial issue is discussed.
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
1
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
2
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
European Union privacy rules include certain aspects of the right to be forgotten. I am not an expert on what this means precisely, but it seems to include the right to have search engines remove certain information associated with your name from search results.
Here is another page provided by Google with more information and a form for submitting privacy-based requests for removal of search results. I assume other search engines will have similar procedures in place to comply with the EU rules.
Note that these rules apply in the EU. I suspect the embarrassing results associated with your name will still be available in non-EU countries. See this related recent article where this somewhat controversial issue is discussed.
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
European Union privacy rules include certain aspects of the right to be forgotten. I am not an expert on what this means precisely, but it seems to include the right to have search engines remove certain information associated with your name from search results.
Here is another page provided by Google with more information and a form for submitting privacy-based requests for removal of search results. I assume other search engines will have similar procedures in place to comply with the EU rules.
Note that these rules apply in the EU. I suspect the embarrassing results associated with your name will still be available in non-EU countries. See this related recent article where this somewhat controversial issue is discussed.
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
answered 57 mins ago
Dan Romik
77.4k20171261
77.4k20171261
1
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
2
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
2
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
1
1
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
Actually the EU rules have caused a lot of issues. One aspect of the rule is that the RTBF is global. Not everyone agrees with that and it is still AFAIK under discussion. It is open to abuse, such as when criminals wish to hide past actions. I don't have any idea what it means with respect to BREXIT, actually.
– Buffy
53 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
@Buffy I am trying to help OP with his/her question. They did not indicate that they are a criminal wishing to hide their past crimes, so your comment is off-topic. Please don’t hijack my answer to start a discussion on unrelated things, however interesting you think they may be.
– Dan Romik
45 mins ago
2
2
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
I added it only because you state that information may still be available outside EU. That is not the intent of the rule. Had you not made that comment I'd not have made mine.
– Buffy
41 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Relax. No one cares, and no one will judge you on what you said when you were 12. (At least, no one who was ever 12 years old themselves...)
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Relax. No one cares, and no one will judge you on what you said when you were 12. (At least, no one who was ever 12 years old themselves...)
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Relax. No one cares, and no one will judge you on what you said when you were 12. (At least, no one who was ever 12 years old themselves...)
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
Relax. No one cares, and no one will judge you on what you said when you were 12. (At least, no one who was ever 12 years old themselves...)
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
answered 1 hour ago
Raghu Parthasarathy
7,15112122
7,15112122
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
qazed1234 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
qazed1234 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
qazed1234 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
qazed1234 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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4
Hi! You wrote that if someone "go through the pages of Google's search results". People reviewing PhD application, and people in academia in general, are busy, and they click on the first link and don't scroll down. Don't worry about it, especially if it's just "silly" and not plain racist, violent or such.
– Clément
1 hour ago
My name is not unique. While I do come up on the first page of google results, so does a historian and a felon (and older posts that were not well thought out come up a couple of pages later). This is a nearly universal problem.
– TimothyAWiseman
29 secs ago