Over sharing online

This was a real-life post on Facebook recently:

‘A year ago I was so lucky to marry my best friend, thanks for a wonderful year my darling.’ To some, a beautiful, romantic sentiment. To others, an over-share.

So, where is the line between enjoying this wonderfully self-indulgent new world, and making our online friends cringe? How do you know if you’re an online over-sharer?

Do you keep your private life private? In three separate studies, the University of Kansas in the States found that the more people expressed their personal feelings about their partners on Facebook, the less their partners liked it. Apparently, we still want to maintain a sense of privacy in our intimate relationships.

Are you working on your ‘public image’? Have you ever posted a pic of yourself with bed hair or a double chin? Euww yuk, no! Facebook has created a huge gap between our real-life selves and our ‘public image’. If you’ve found yourself doing something, just so it can go on Facebook, you might be taking that public image too far.

Are you addicted to status updates? There really is no reason to ‘check in’ at the supermarket, at the gym, on the way to work ... If you feel the need to share everywhere, than it’s probably an over-share.

Could it be used against you? If you post something in anger or in an emotional state, the chances are you will regret it later. Facebook is being used more and more to establish people’s personal characters, so if it wouldn’t seem appropriate in 10 years’ time, it might not be right for today.

Are you encouraging stalkers?  The point of Facebook is to be accessible, but it’s becoming increasingly important to restrict your privacy. Adjust your privacy settings so that information is only available to trusted friends, and you won’t be sharing with the world.

In short, Facebook is for fun, so when it comes to the ups and downs of life, pick up the phone and share with someone who cares.