We have become a voyeur universe. In the U.S.A. alone one out of every four people online joins a social networking site. In other parts of the world, the statistics are even higher.

Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center predicts, “The next growth wave will be expanding and incorporating these networks into our business lives.”

The reality is social networking is already there and a truth you may not want to hear.

It’s like stalking without being caught. It’s legally snooping into someone else’s private life. It’s reality TV without turning on your set. It’s going on a date without spending a dime. It’s the age of digital gratification. Without your knowing, your personal information may be going global.

Go ahead, Google yourself and see what comes up. The first thing you’ll find is that your name is not unique; there are others out there masquerading as you, at least those who also own intellectual rights to your name.

I did. The good news is that I am alive, well, and living in many different countries. I even went to Nigeria and got robbed. I am on Facebook, My Space, and numerous other places. The problem is that the females who assume my name are obviously not me at all. But the concept of finding me by simply inputting my name made me curious. Just for the heck of it, I typed in other names, such as my sixteen-year-old daughter.

I called her into my bedroom. “I found you on the Internet. You said you were doing it.”

I looked at her, then at her profile picture. Whatever “it” was, she already did it. Her hair cast an eerie orange glow and two holes were nestled beneath each end of her lip.

“It’s my body. I’ll do what I want. Besides it’s Art.”

“Yes, I see that. Is that a real nose ring and tattoo? Does this mean you don’t want to get a job?” My corporate experience knows that most company dress codes frown upon body art and piercing in conspicuous places other than ears. Many institutions still believe in propriety.

Take for instance the guy wearing a black and white striped shirt beneath an orange jumpsuit–the one with Jailbird written at the top. This photo was taken after he had been charged with a DWI. The picture showed him smiling while holding a beverage.

“He has no remorse,” the DA said and placed this photo and other pictures pulled from Facebook into the jury’s hands. The judge agreed. “Two Years,” he said and sentenced the young man to a prison term.  Posting your image on the Internet may not always be the best thing to do.  Clichés aren’t dead because a picture will always be worth a thousand words. 

For instance, not only are DA’s getting the dirt on people through photography and using this as evidence in court cases; educational institutions are expelling students, pulling scholarships, and firing teachers. Employers are not hiring people and often sacking employees for what’s being posted on their Internet walls or on other people’s walls.

But don’t expect that deleting what may be potentially incriminating evidence will clear you. What you may not know is that the Internet Archive has been storing your information long before your Web page was moved or deleted. They have over 85 billion examples of Web pages that date back to 1996 and this updating is ongoing. This leads to the fact that deleting anything that you may have uploaded to the Internet is not 100% effective.

Even though some experts say the shelf life of a Web page ranges from 44 days to 100; nothing lies dormant forever. What you did in one wild and crazy moment may eventually come back and bite you in a place you might not enjoy.

Just surf around and type in cave dweller art. While names may be absent, the art is still surfacing everywhere and on the Internet for all to see. Then again, you could claim your photographs are for posterity’s sake, or is it posterior’s sake?