CRI听力: Youngsters' Prospects Threatened by Past Indiscretions

Internet profiles showing contradictory information or embarrassing pictures could jeopardize young people's future job prospects. Now, some industry insiders say people are likely to change their names in order to cover up their online past.

Our reporter Li Dong has the details.

The internet has become such an essential tool in our daily lives that most of us can't imagine a life without it.

Social networking, especially, has been gaining huge momentum over the past few years, with the emergence of Facebook and Twitter.

But many people are not aware that whatever information they put on the web will stay there. Teenagers are especially prone to sharing pictures and information that might come back to haunt them later on.

Internet security expert Rik Ferguson goes through facebook user-Ben McLean's profile, in search of some potentially risky content. He finds a photo showing Ben on a drunken night out and is concerned it might put off future recruiters.

"That is definitely a kind of photo that might prejudice your chances in an interview."

Ben himself realizes that once information goes on the web, it is out of the owner's control.

"People can just take your information, they can be looking at your conversations, they can look at your pictures and if I want to delete that picture someone may also have taken a copy of that without me knowing."

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has predicted his site will store even more personal data in future.

Schmidt sparked controversy when he said he expected today's children to seek a new identity once they grow up. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said changing their names would be a way to cover up rebellious teenage activities, as documented on social network sites.

Ferguson says that the mass storing of data isn't limited to the internet.

"Even what we would consider privileged communication, one to one communication, even sending photographs, videos or SMS by mobile phone, we shouldn't consider that a one to one communication any more because the object of a communication has permanency that it previously didn't have."

Erasing your past may not be straightforward, however. Recruitment firms say that such attempts would likely raise more doubts than they covered up.

On a more optimistic note, recruiters may not be as preoccupied with our past indiscretions as we fear.

Phill Lane, head of planning at a recruitment company explains that they're looking for consistency in a candidate's profile.

"What they should do is make sure their profile online is consistent. If for instance they have different qualifications or different organizations on different online profiles as a recruiter I'm going to wonder what that's all about. It does look very suspicious."

But recruiters also admit that in some cases, having a full and active online presence could actually help a young person in their future career.

A candidate looking for a career in advertising, for example, can show a grasp of communications channels and marketing techniques through their involvement on the net.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.