13-Year Perspective: Cancer and the "Digital Footprint"
Thirteen years ago, Facebook was still fun, Twitter hadn't devolved into a dumpster fire, haters, bots, and trolls hadn't yet perfected their craft, and "going public" with your cancer diagnosis felt like a high-stakes gamble.
I also penned an article for Stupid Cancer on The Huffington Post titled "FMLA, Beer Pong, Social Media, and Your Digital Footprint." It was a reflection of its time—a warning flare for the newly empowered, social media-savvy generation of young adults with cancer.
Could the act of sharing your story with Tom from Myspace cost you a job, a relationship, or your dignity? Spoiler: It absolutely could.
Fast-forward and not much has changed—except now, everyone overshares everything, and employers have gotten better at quietly discriminating. Platforms that once promised connection are cesspools of judgment, and privacy has gone the way of the AOL floppy disk.
Meanwhile, cancer still comes with a side of stigma, and patients and survivors are stuck navigating a digital minefield where one "inspirational" post might land you applause—or bias.
While nonprofits like Cancer and Careers have been credibly holding the line as the leader in the space on workplace equity, let's face it: the larger message hasn't aged well because recent studies show most cancer survivors still don't feel safe disclosing their diagnoses at work.
Surprise! That inspirational Slack post? It might get you sympathy cookies—or a pink slip. And there's nothing you can do about it.
Even the question of "to share or not to share" is just as fraught as it was a decade ago. Articles from Fred Hutch and Henry Ford Health highlight the same fears survivors had in 2012: judgment, discrimination, and being treated like a liability.
Even the ASCO Journal (which I question even knows patients exist) is still publishing think pieces on how workplaces fail cancer survivors, proving we've made about as much progress as a hamster on a wheel.
Looking back, I realize how quaint our 2012 optimism was. We thought social media could be a tool for advocacy, not a tool used against us. Now, oversharing isn't just encouraged—it's exploited. Not to mention the scores of mobile matching apps whose TOS are as ambiguous as a metaphor from 1990s SNL that hasn't aged well.
What does it mean for "cancer advocacy to evolve" in 2025, ditch the old playbook, and start fighting for real privacy and equity in a world that treats every life moment as a viral Skibidi toilet something?
I'd argue that your digital footprint is now a muddy dinosaur puddle on your professional and personal life.
So, let's talk about it. Whether you want to join the aggrieved, chime in with optimism, poke the bear, or simply wax poetic about the golden days of Compuserve, comment, tag a friend, and share your thoughts. This conversation needs all of us.
Happy Monday! 😎
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fmla-beer-pong-social-med_b_1190102