Every day, things happen, of which many of those things happening, really aren't worth recording or having a permanent record of, forever. Yet, in the age of social media, video recording and posting, audio recording and posting, and picture recording and posting, along with written media of all persuasions, things that are said and done, can conceivably migrate from being somewhat forgettable or somewhat regrettable, which basically means things that formerly would have been seen as being transitory, can and are becoming permanent.
While there are many notable events and deeds, which deserve to have a permanent record, such as a graduation, or a wedding, or a birth, or other seminal events that are meaningful, and often are positive; there are also many events that are not positive, involving people losing their temper or making a fool of themselves, or choice words badly spoken or written, or other regrettable and embarrassing events, that for some opportunistic people are seen as a good opportunity to record and post such, in a forum, in which, once posted, such can be re-posted, ad infinitum.
While some of these things so posted are innocuous, cute, and even inspirational, there are plenty of posts that are deliberately made to shame the other, or in the hopes of creating a scandal, of which, pictures, videos, and even written words, especially when taken out of context, can easily change the significance of what really occurred and the editing of media can change the emphasis of what actually happened in a way in which what is being shown is fundamentally an unfair portrayal. Of course, truth be told, there are plenty of embarrassing and ugly things that are recorded and posted, which are a true portrayal of that moment, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to be seen again and again.
Everyone makes errors and mistakes, of which, most people that make those errors and mistakes, are not really interested in seeing or having to re-live that moment, again and again, for they feel, with some justification, that what is being shown is not a fully accurate portrayal of who and what they really are; but if this is what is shown about them, again and again, then it becomes almost futile to try to negate what has become the new norm for how they are seen and perceived.
All of the above means that when what is being published and shown via social media and other such means, is functionally out of the control of the subjects that are part and parcel of it, than for all intents and purposes, their persona is not under their control. It would be one thing, if all this was done somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but there are many people that have agendas, or are just plain mean-spirited and therefore take things that should simply be forgotten in due time, or left alone, and build instead a foundation that is hurtful and destructive to another, in which, the other person has little recourse except to accept the public shaming, essentially because the ubiquity of social media and the resiliency of video and pictures, have taken what was previously transitory, into the twilight zone of the new transitory, which makes it in so many ways, permanent and indelible.