50 or 100 years ago, the eavesdropper would have known the couple and would have told everybody in town about what happened. I don't really see any significant difference here. This looks like another example of people inadvertently pining for an imaginary past.
1. You can move away from a small town to escape the embarrassment.
2. The people of the town know you, and therefore have some sort of prior connection with you. Here we are getting the raw details of people who we've never met, thereby forming first opinions of these people before we ever meet them (should that ever happen).
Just wait a bit, and the internet will find its new flavor of the week. Nobody who saw the tweets will recognize you three days later, or remember those first opinions.
You're right that it's not exactly the same scenario, but I'd argue that this new thing is still not as bad as before. Being embarrassed to people who know you is much worse than being embarrassed to people who don't.
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