I recently had this question posed to me off the back of some of my past social media posts on this blog including Do You Censor Yourself on Social Media (March 2009) and more recently, Did You Un-Friend Me Because You Don’t Like Me Anymore?

This reader was interested to know if people also took advantage of the fact that on Facebook you can delete your comments and posts, as well as other people’s comments and posts on your profile.

I have on one occasion deleted a message someone posted to my profile. And I think I had a valid reason to do so – it was information I truly didn’t think was a good idea to be put “out there.” Basically a friend who knew I was about to leave on vacation, posted to my wall a message that asked if I was “still leaving early in the morning tomorrow” and that they would “see me when I got back in two weeks.” I mean, why didn’t they just send out my social security number while they were at it?

Anyone else see a problem with this?

I can’t help but think back to Carl Lewis, the multi-sport Olympian who’s home was robbed while he was competing for Olympic glory in 1984. Now this was way before the Internet phenomenon, but opportunists knew he would be out of town for a set amount of time so they took advantage and ripped him off. Because of Carl Lewis, I deleted that Facebook post. I just didn’t want to tempt anyone who may be looking for an opportunity.

Plus I believe that some things are too personal to be posted about – this is also why I no longer participate on Dopplr – which they say is a great way to network with people when you’re on the road. It’s also a great way to tell the world that you’re not home, how far away you are and how long you’ll be gone! I’m trying to be smarter about my posts – not just what I put on my personal profile, but also what I post on other people’s walls.

So if we can all agree that in this instance, deleting a post was justified, what else would justify deleting a post or comment? Have you done it? Why or why not?