Modern technology was supposed to make us smarter.
So much for that.
"No matter how smart you are in real life, many people are stupid online," said Parry Aftab, a privacy lawyer and cyber-safety expert in New Jersey, where recent allegations about sexually oriented calls and texts from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre have highlighted the perils of electronic communication. "Technology just keeps things forever, and you don't really know where it is."
Boorish and harassing behaviors have been with us since the caveman era. But the 21st century's instant communication -- texting, sexting, tweeting, e-mailing -- creates infinite opportunities for impulsive actions and everlasting consequences.
"This kind of human behavior is timeless and has not changed," said David Alter, a Minnetonka clinical psychologist. "[But] technology can disseminate those mistakes and misjudgments internationally in a matter of minutes."
Such missives also have brought a virtual end to the "he said, she said" era, and not just among the Tiger Woodses of the world. Angry or exculpatory e-mails and texts are a rapidly rising factor in marriage breakups, said St. Louis Park-based divorce lawyer Pamela Green.
As University of Minnesota psychology Prof. William Doherty noted, "People who become your exes save that stuff."
But knowing the shelf life of a text message doesn't prevent risqué or rash behavior, especially in moments of heightened emotions.