고등학교 공통영어2 (YBM 박준언) 연계 글

Imagine a tenth grader named Yunseul. She comes across a dance video that she posted at the age of ten, with her full name in the title. Now, six years later, the video seems so embarrassing that she wants to delete it at once. She cannot bear the thought that her new classmates might find it. However, she can no longer sign in to her old account, because the phone number linked to it has changed. Her problem raises a hard question: Can a post ever be completely erased?

Every post, photo, and comment you share leaves a trace, often called a digital footprint. A post can be copied, saved, and shared by people the writer has never met. Taking a screenshot is so easy that any viewer can keep a copy. Moreover, a post that has been hidden from its original page may still appear in search results. In short, the fact that you have deleted a post does not mean that every copy is gone.

Fortunately, old footprints can often be cleaned up. You can start by deleting whatever you still can. When that is impossible, young people in Korea can turn to the Personal Information Protection Commission. Since 2023, it has run a service named Jiugae, which means "eraser" in Korean. Anyone under 30 can apply for help with posts written before the age of 19. The posts must also contain personal information, such as a name or a photo. The commission then asks the website to delete or hide the post on the applicant's behalf. It can also ask search engines to stop showing the post. However, the service handles only posts that applicants wrote themselves; for posts by others, it gives advice instead.

Still, the easiest footprint to erase is the one that was never made. Before you post something, consider the possibility that a stranger or even your older self may read it someday. Ask friends before you share their photos, and use privacy settings to limit who can see your posts. These habits rest on the idea that a post may last far longer than the moment it was shared. Best of all, they are so simple that anyone can start them today.