With Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace taking over the Internet, it's hard to escape from this oversharing generation we've created. With a push of a button, we can now track our friends through their cell phones, Twitter our life stories, update our relationship status, and tell the world whatever is on our minds. And while I think these easy methods of staying connected with friends and family are a great benefit of our time, I also think a little mystery can be beneficial to all relationships.
I know there's a lot to be said here, so tell me where you stand on our current obsession with oversharing.
Too Faced
I don't see anything wrong with voluntarily sharing all that information, but that doesn't mean I'm going to read it or care about it. I don't.
1some people do go overboard with sharing really personal information on some of those sites, but I cant stop going on them! I have lived in so many different states and it is a terrific way to keep in touch with all of my friends.
2i love facebook and think these sites are great to keep in touch - it's just sharing, for the most part
it's the "oversharing" part of sharing that kills me - the super ridiculously personal or gross details or when someone insists on saying things like "why are my friends so f-in annoying. no one cares about me. thanks for not calling. i hate everyone"...like that's a little stupid and i hate the emotional posts too about your relationship like "i can't understand why you can't love me like i love you" - like that's just LAME.
3i do like that i get to keep in touch with my friends who moved away for school but sometimes people share more then they should. i do not like it when people post stuff saying "i got laid last night" or when someone posts about how mad they are at someone.
4I guess I value my privacy more than most of you sugars. My friend asked me to sign up for Facebook and after I did I realized I bit off more than I wanted to chew. I do like the idea of staying in touch with friends but I'm not comfortable with people from my past trying to contact me.
5Personally, I don't over-share. It's just not me. But to those who do, it's their choice and that's fine with me.
6I deleted loads of my information from Facebook plus loads of so-called 'friends' because I was sick of loads of randoms being able to see my information. Now I only have my name, DOB, hometown and university/ university course on it- things my friends know anyway. I think it can be a massive conversation killer because you can't tell your friends anything new because they have already seen it on Facebook.
I do think some people share too much. For instance, one girl told out the entire story of how her boyfriend cheated on her and then how she took him back through her Facebook status to the entire world. Another posted information about problems she was having with her pill and how she had banned her boyfriend from having sex with her-TMI!
7I am SO SICK OF IT! I'm thinking of boycotting facebook and the rest. It's false intimacy and I would rather spend time working on my real life with my true, close friends. I'm also so sick of all the stupid emails I get. Sick of it alL!
8I'll share to a certain extent and about certain things but I've learned the hard way that oversharing about EVERYTHING ends up biting you in the ass.
9To each their own I guess. I share random silly things that I don't really care about and maybe what my mood is in that moment but I don't go into detail about "the weird rash that exploded on my thigh that is so itchy..." certain things you should just keep to yourself.
Same goes for over drama sharing if you're upset you're upset no need to right a dramatic filled status about it with lame innuendos.
10bluebellknoll - i tend to think that people who don't want people from their past contacting them are either unhappy with the way they live their life now or are unhappy with the way they lived their life in the past...i can't see why i wouldnt want to get in touch with old friends, colleagues, classmates and have them see how i'm doing - because i'm doing well! and i'm curious to see how they are doing
11also makes it easier to hide things, really... hmmm
12The only people I share with are the people who are in my life
As for the internet I share very little if anything at all because I have huge trust issues when it comes to people I don't really know or have never seen...
13I'm not allowed to be that self-involved.
14Skigirl - I'm doing great and I lived a comfortable, happy life so far without ever going to prison.
I wondered if my post would come across as if I had something to hide or was unhappy about the way things turned out. I guess skigirl answered that!
My guess about why I'm such an UNDERsharer is a generational thing. I've been out of school for a long time so I don't feel the need to share and keep in touch or re-connect via facebook. Really, the people I met in school that I haven't stayed in touch with are only distant acquaintances to me now. I don't feel the need to give these people the details of my(good)life.
I would rather share with my close friends by calling, emailing directly, or visiting them...you know, the old fashioned way.
15You're not alone, Bluebell. I have an account and i don't want just anyone finding me.
16I dont know. The people who tend to overshare tend to be the biggest gossipers anyway.. so this information would leak out somehow by word of mouth ANYWAY.
17You control what you want to share and who is going to see it so I don't know what the big deal is. I keep in touch with people that don't live near me, but I don't go on and on with personal crap on there...that's just stupid. Call me if you want more details. I hate hearing about my friends fighting with their boyfriends and being overly dramatic over facebook. Does someone need attention?
18I think it's great fun, but that's just me. I also don't overshare. I just think it's fun (as I said already).
19I don't do these sites, because they seem so fake and self indulgent...I would rather spend time trying to establish and nurture relationships with real flesh and blood people, not false "friends".
People ask me, well, you could get back in contact with people from high school and distant cousins that you have never met....why the f*ck would I want to do that? I wasn't interested enough in keeping contact then, why would I want to now?
People will say you can stay in better touch with familyand close friends... well, guess what? You can actually talk to them and hear their voices with this little device called a telephone. It's like magic.
Don't get me started on the cyberstalking ex friends and bfs, either...talk about unhealthy! I think it makes some people so self-absorbed, they spend hours on it, when they should just get off their ass and go out and meet real people.
20I don't put any personal info on those websites, Twitter just seems pointless, I've never used it and I'd rather not tell the world what I'm doing at every moment of my day. I hate when people update their facebook status every 5 minutes. "Shower!" "Eating!!" "Out to *exact address* till 8 and then *exact address* after!!!" "Bathroom Break!!!!" like.. its annoying.. and thats the way to get stalkers.
21I'm addicted to twitter. I only follow people who make funny posts though. I unfollow people who tweet about their lunch. I feel terribly sorry for people who feel compelled to take a photo of their coffee with a status like "ahhh coffee"... I just want to reply "look, we know your mother didn't love you but please don't share this crap."
I don't mind. It's all voluntary and I don't have to pay attention to them ALL. Following people on twitter who spout crap and who you don't like is like standing in the middle of a highway and asking WHY ARE ALL THESE CARS HITTING ME?
22I'm a very private person by nature, and though I have a FB, I keep my information very controlled. What I hate is people who update their status' every five minutes. It's so self obsessing, and sometimes people just want the attention. This generation is a little off on oversharing- anything you "post" can be seen by anyone. And with people getting rejected for colleges, jobs, clubs etc because of their pics... discretion is apparently something you have to learn now a days.
23I think FB is great, it has made me and my friends so much closer. We lost track a bit after graduation, even though we all live in the same city and after reconnecting on facbook and consantly talking to each other and commenting on pictures and updates we ended up getting together all the time in actual life! Not to mention now we all get info on the events in town and things like that.
I think it works so well for me because I only add people I KNOW and know well enough that I don't care that they have my email/full name/and know what I look like - and it is on lock down private for anyone else.
And I agree with everyone that the over sharing of personal (gross) details is annoying.
24I don't want to join the crowd. I'll be blunt. I have better things to do. I have a son to take care of. A husband to contend with. People to meet and places to go. If I need to talk I knock on a door or pick up my phone. If someone wants to know something about me they can ask. I also have a job where I use a computer all day. The heck I'm going to get behind another one when I get home. On the weekends I am learning scuba diving. I'm also learning a new language. I travel. I like adventure. I do research. I read books. I'm getting ready for a 5K run. I don't care to advertise myself. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to.
25Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.