Just as our society begins to no longer pre-judge those of us who sport ink on our bodies, it is tattoos of a different - but equally permanent - kind that are catching up with our past.
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Look no further than the Federal election campaign and the carnage caused by the unearthing of some candidates' digital tattoos from a distant past.
A bit like the ink variety, the words and images that we post on social media can be covered up temporarily but are very difficult to remove permanently.
And these high-tech tattoos have cast a powerful and intense spotlight on a cache of disturbing racist, sexist and homophobic views.
It is those very tweets and posts that can result in personal digital disasters ranging from damaged reputations to missing out on a job opportunity or being fired through to being cyber-lynched, publicly shunned or despised.
Social media platforms have allowed many of us a level of connectivity not previously thought possible.
Platforms are increasingly becoming hard drives of shameful behaviours with many users - and not just aspirant politicians - logging on and upsetting, offending, shaming and even threatening others.
It is difficult to understand exactly what sits behind the seemingly burgeoning keyboard warrior movement. It is a mindset that permits people to jump online and behave so radically different to the how they might in a regular face-to-face situation.
A simple explanation is that when social media users stare into a cold glass screen they forget they are still speaking out aloud as they tap away.
Maybe it is more complicated. After all, social media is still a relatively new phenomenon for many and some may not have learnt the rules of engagement.
We have learnt what is acceptable in different social situations and around particular people.
But we appear confused in this newer social setting called 'cyberspace', which can appear devoid of real people and their feelings.
Our growing levels of bad behaviour in cyberspace might also be explained by what some experts describe as the online disinhibition effect - a phenomenon that results in people dropping their guard, loosening up and expressing themselves more openly when online.
This often leads to flippant comments, harsh criticisms, anger, hatred and even threats.
Or perhaps it is that we have seen so much of these types of behaviours online in recent times that threats, shaming and mudslinging have all become the new normal.
Even more disturbing, just like a computer virus is passed from one device to the next, our toxic ways seem to have become contagious to fuel an epidemic of online incivility. We are dished up rude or hostile behaviour online from others and we 'pay it forward'.
However, there is an explanation for this bad behaviour that is even more sinister.
It could well be that platform users are increasingly suffering from social media envy, a condition that causes some users to become so jealous of the heightened levels of attention lathered on others, that they set out to attract a much larger share of the hype by purposely knocking out comments online that they wouldn't dare make (physically) face to face.
Whatever the reasons, as these shameful behaviours move into overdrive, surely it is time to reboot our efforts at curbing their rise.
It starts by turning on 'safe-mode' and becoming a great netizen - one whose online behaviour matches the very best of who they are offline.
In case you have any reason to doubt the need to be an exemplary netizen, it is worth keeping in mind that that just like a regular tattoo, those high-tech digital tattoos are not easily erased.
If they resurface, the increased bandwidth you will receive might reveal more about your real front-end than you care to share.
- Professor Gary Martin is chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Management WA
