Poor Anthony Weiner. Even your average teenage girl has more sense than the mayoral candidate, who resigned from Congress in 2011 after being caught sending his eponymously named body part across the Internet.
Older people are “not as accustomed to sharing publicly” as younger generations, says Maurice Freedman, founder of digital creative firm Zaah Technologies. “They put so much information up there.”
If only Weiner had a little more self-restraint when he sent the tweet seen ’round the world, he might not have earned his, er, member-ship in the annals of New York City sex scandals. Just a few months later, the smartphone market was flooded with apps designed to — in theory — keep your messages private.
Secret.li, for example, lets you share Facebook photos that disappear after a set time. Pinger sends self-destructing animated GIFs, and Wink shares photos only with people in close proximity to you (eliminating the possibility of, say, tweeting your picture to the entire world).
The most popular app, Snapchat, allows users to send pictures to each other that delete themselves a few seconds after they’re opened, disappearing forever (unless the recipient takes a screenshot).
What else is a philanderer to do in the age of cellphone cameras and geo-tagged pics?
“No. 1 is no identifying information,” says Freedman (who makes it clear he doesn’t advocate cheating). “Keep your name out of it, keep your face out of it.”
Another issue is Apple’s iCloud, which instantly shares photos and videos across your Apple products — so if you send a pic from your iPhone, your spouse may be at home watching it pop up on the iPad. It’s activated by default on most devices, so aspiring cheaters should turn it off.
“I’ve been calling iCloud the iDivorce,” Freedman says.
Social media consultants say Weiner’s too far gone to be helped. But he’s a great example of what not to do.
“Some people’s purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others,” Freedman says. “And I think Anthony Weiner is one of those.”