By now, you should be well aware that there is nothing that goes away once it is on the internet. Putting information into the public domain has the possibility of haunting you the rest of your days. You can delete a post, no problem. However, that does not guarantee that no one copied the post or shared it with others, and if that happened, though your original post may have been deleted, the copies can live on in infamy.

Big data is making access to all kinds of information easier and can be gathered with a few keystrokes. That ability is increasing every day and being applied in more ways as well. So what may feel like a harmless post on your personal page today could well be the reason you don’t get the job of your dreams a few months from now. If it is out there, potential employers can find it. So reign in your slightly tipsy self and remember a night of fun and celebration is not meant to create havoc for years to come.

You probably won’t do anything too horrible if you have one glass of wine. There might be a few more typos than usual or such. But consider the damage that can happen if an employer checks out your personal page and sees you have posted pictures while at a number of local bars with a drink in your hand – all during the last several months. When he sees those pictures and considers your qualifications next to another person who has no such pictures and similar abilities to your own – well who do you think is going to get the job offer? If you want to share pictures at a bar or nightclub, then you should be the owner or performer at that club. Otherwise, don’t share those pictures in public forums.

There is one further thing to consider is your texts and private messages. You own the messages you create only until you hit send. Once you hit send, the receiver owns them and could, at least theoretically, revise them or add images to them and then forward them as if they are from you. If you have tipsy texted, the issues can be even more complicated. Apps are being developed currently to delete texts and private messages within a minute or so after the receiver reads them – leaving no trace. But until those apps become available, keep in mind that though a text may seem private, it is easy for someone to make it public.

Don’t drink and share, or party and post.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of New York Public Relations company 5WPR.