What is the first thing an intelligent person does before they start dating someone? The answer is scope out their online profile.

When choosing what candidate to hire for a job, most managers will search the candidate’s digital footprint. In the best cases, the presence they have built, usually over many years, will result in a job as well as an invaluable reputation. 

A reputation is the true determiner of a person’s social standing in society. Reputations have a powerful influence. People are viewed, whether genuinely or falsely, by perception and what other people see online.

Online reputations are just as important as the reputations built in person. A digital footprint stays online permanently and whatever has been revealed to the vast internet can have lasting impacts.

So what makes a reputation “invaluable?” Reputations have the ability to make or break a person’s future. People with an online presence must be cautious and aware. Favorable versus damaging reputations are the tipping point – the extra spark someone needs for a positive outcome in their future, whether it be college, employment or even dating and making friends. 

A good or bad reputation lies in the different choices a person has made throughout their life. Bad decisions such as alcohol, drugs, spreading lies, rumors and even promiscuity, can destroy others or your own future opportunities. 

Since social media has such a strong influence over reputation, things posted online, in most cases forever, are either beneficial or will cause harm. 

Junior Neha Desigar has not only the reputation of being a good student, but is highly intelligent as well. She mentions how social media affects reputations depending on what is posted online.

“I think social media definitely does affect your reputation, and in most cases, I’d say negatively because a lot of times people aren’t careful with what they put on social media, and if they expose too much of their life, then people might learn secrets about them they might not have wanted to share,” Desigar says. “If you’re careful with what you put out on the internet, then it can be positive.”

The internet has the ability to block reality and create falsehoods. It can hide the true authenticity of a person. In day-to-day life, people have a much harder time being fake, whereas online, anybody can become anybody and create false identities. With fake identities, people run the risk of being exposed as a fraud.  Having caution when posting online will decrease the potential of online identity thieves as well as false rumors and negative reputations.

When a reputation has been destroyed, all hope is not lost. It may take years to build back up, but, eventually through time, reputations can be repaired. 

For celebrities, it is crucial to keep their reputations pure and far away from contamination and negativity. No one is exempt from having a bad reputation, regardless of how rich or famous you are. 

On April 11, 2022, beloved actor and musician Johnny Depp went to court with his ex-wife Amber Heard. As she was suing him for domestic abuse, he counter-sued her for defamation: the damaging of one’s reputation or character.  

Depp won the defamation case. His die-hard fans on the internet came to their own conclusions, which may have persuaded the jury to rule in favor of Depp. Depp and Heard serve as a reminder of how anyone’s reputation can be tarnished and destroyed no matter who they are, where they come from or how famous they are.

Depp’s lawyer, Benjamin Chew, explains how Depp went to court to free his name and prove his innocence.

“This case for Depp has never been about money,” Chew said. “It is about Mr. Depp’s reputation and freeing him from the prison in which he has lived for the last six years.”

Having a positive reputation can be hard in this negative world but staying true to one’s self by building upon one’s character will help maintain a good reputation now and in the future.

Sage Creek counselor Freddy Delgado states how there are different qualities that it takes to develop and sustain a good reputation:

“I think when it comes to making a positive reputation, it’s all about having those qualities such as being genuine, honest and just being real with yourself and others.”

In this ever-changing society, everyone must be consistent in their efforts in protecting their invaluable reputation. There will be times where individual characters may become victimized; however, staying genuine and being careful about what is posted online will help re-establish a poor reputation and keep a favorable reputation from ever being questioned.