Among the more bewildering offshoots of the fast moving info-tech revolution has been the tendency for young people, in particular, to air private issues in the public space.

So now, for example, there are countless cases of people publishing evidence of intimate relationships, sometimes by way of still and moving pictures, on rapidly growing social media.

The evolution of the cellphone to the status of a powerful computer with multiple media/communication capabilities means everyone must be on their best behaviour, especially when in public, lest they be compromised in a loose moment.

In Jamaica and globally, social media is increasingly the Achilles heel for high-profile personalities — including politicians — who are too loose. The wrong word, the wrong move, is audio-visually broadcast globally within seconds by those holding smartphones to the extreme detriment of the subjects.

Frequently, information purveyors circulate issues involving other people. More difficult to comprehend is the tendency by some to circulate their own private issues for all eyes and ears.

It is downright confusing for many of those who go back to the days before the current info-tech era to witness the self-inflicted wounds by many presumably sensible people — some of whom are not so young. Perhaps afflicted by conceit and arrogance, the latter often seem unconcerned that the damage extends to others around them.

In Jamaica’s current political arena, we suspect Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller would be among those not only annoyed but also bewildered by this tendency among some in her party to self-maim on social media.

We note the report in yesterday’s Sunday Observer of her warning to leading Comrades who have been maliciously snapping at each other on social media: “I am warning you, don’t test me. I came through the system the hard way, so don’t test me … If you continue to behave like that on social media, there will be severe consequences.”

Of course, social media is also a most valuable tool in the circulation and promotion of ideas and products — intellectual and otherwise.

And it’s now an essential element in political campaigning. For many young voters, especially, the use by incumbent and aspiring political representatives of the various social media avenues could well determine how they vote.

Here is something for all of Jamaica’s politicians and the two political parties to consider as the parliamentary elections approach. It is that, while technology is changing rapidly and in the process is transforming how people live and also their perceptions, at a fundamental level the great majority still have very clear traditional ideas about what is right and what is wrong, what is sensible and what is stupid. Hence the warning from Mrs Simpson Miller. For at bottom line, persistent juvenile behaviour by party functionaries at all levels — be it social media, political platforms or other fora — could cost votes and ultimately the election.