I love technology, but it was easier to stay out of trouble back then.

[jorno67]

Back not to long ago dirty pictures were taken with a Polaroid camera because you didn't want to drop those pics off at the photo-mat.
Dirty messages were sealed in a stamp envelope - if you were lucky it had a dash of perfume on it.
Every little stupid thought that popped into my head was only shared with people who were within earshot. Today it goes on the facebook and/or twitter AND IT NEVER GOES AWAY!
I am so happy that I didn't have this stuff in high school or college - I would have shared a lot of stupidity with the world!

[Warpy]

1. Those dirty Polaroids also had a limited shelf life

because repeated exposure to light faded them completely away. They were completely unsuitable as wallet trophies.

Still, I'm glad I never had any of them of me floating around.

[lbrtbell]

2. I've never wanted to photograph myself nude

And I certainly wouldn't send nude images of myself to anyone else, by any low-tech or high-tech means. I seriously can't imagine why anybody would want to, given the potential for massive embarrassment, or even blackmail.

Photos and communications like that never went away, even before the advent of the internet. Anybody could photocopy a letter or get reprints of photos to distribute.

A good rule of thumb: If you wouldn't want your boss to see the picture, don't pose for it.

[murielm99]

3. I had some dumb college roommates who took pics of me

in my underwear or pajamas. While more revealing than I liked, they are not obscene. I wish I still looked that good.

[jorno67]

4. where that was "harmless" with todays technology those would've been all over the web.

[bainz]

5. Dark Rooms

When I was in college, I had a dark room in my apartment. I only did B/W, I could develop my own film and make prints. Instant "dirty pictures" without anyone else seeing them (so I thought).

I made the mistake of showing some of the negatives to a roommate who eventually found out where I kept them. When I moved out, they were gone.

After that, I told people "Don't record anything that you don't want to be seen."

My advise today. Don't record anything.

//posting this anyway
///google probably has it in its' cache before I hit submit.

[DevonRex]

6. But supposedly not as a married 40-something congressman.

This is the kind of stupid thing a kid would do.

[jorno67]

7. I agree completely! This topic was inspired by all the Weinergate

crap, but in no way am I saying he shouldn't have known better - he should. but then again if he was a congressman in 1991 instead of 2011 would his stupidity been discovered?

[DevonRex]

8. I really wish

we could go back to the days when we didn't know about this stuff. I'm just trying to imagine shaking weiner's hand now without feeling like I had to go wash up immediately.

And I could see it if he weren't computer savvy. Or really young and still naive. But jeez.

Good OP btw.