I wrote a piece for an on-line magazine for its spirituality section. Although the article was about forgiveness and love, the editor wanted to put my photo in front of the word hate to accompany the article. After much discussion and protest on my part the photo was changed, but he did so begrudgingly.

One very huge fact bothered me about this. EVERY photo put on the internet stays on the internet forever.  The photo of me smiling with the word hate behind me would have gone out onto the world without the accompanying article and would have stood alone without explanation.  People Googling my name would pull up the photos of me and there would be my smiling face with the big word HATE behind me.

You may not remember, but I do, the negative impact a standalone photo had on a very young Jane Fonda when she innocently held up a rifle in Vietnam during the war. A photo was snapped of her smiling face holding the rifle and to this day she is still thought by some to be a traitor. But the truth is she was too young to know the reality of what was going to happen and allowed herself to be used and abused as a result. And this was way before the internet.

Love yourself by evaluating what you put out on the internet.  Not from fear, but simply from the perspective of knowing it will be around forever.  Make sure you are not allowing other people to have any control whatsoever over the image you are leaving out there. Make certain you are proud of what you are saying and doing.