I must admit it’s pretty satisfying having a tech-savy Mom in her 80′s who is active online with email, Facebook, instant messaging, and forums.

She wrote a recent update that reminds me of the dangers of social networks and transparency.

Mom has trouble grasping the prevalence of people, and especially the youngest generation of relatives, putting expletives in writing. I don’t blame her.

Private or inappropriate thoughts typed in haste remain online forever.

For those youngsters looking for better paying jobs, more and more companies will check out your posts on social networks, so you may not even get an interview if constantly…

1. Dropping the F* bomb or any expletive in your public posts
2. Writing gripes about a job, the boss, or ways to ditch work
3. Sharing experiences that demonstrate poor judgment or character

The future of social networking includes the risk of too much transparency for those people who aren’t careful. Law enforcement are already using social network data to locate fugitives and deadbeats. Divorce lawyers are finding gems written online by opposing spouses to improve cases for their clients.

Your social network is not a diary. Don’t type what you wouldn’t say in public or want repeated in a legal case, job interview, church service, or family setting. Imagine being quoted years from now in great detail about something you blurted out and immediately shared in writing only to regret that moment.

My Mom, your Mom, and most Moms have enough dirt on their family, friends, and relatives to write a dozen tellall books documenting scathing reports of poor judgment. Most don’t, won’t, and wouldn’t. People need to learn from their example and avoid the dangers of social networks and transparency that could come back to haunt them in the future.

That’s one lesson I learned thanks to the upbringing of “the bestest Mommy in the whole wide world”.