The internet. In today’s world, the internet is much more than just a tool for looking up information and connecting with knowledge. Through social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, it has become the new means of social interaction and a foundation for many relationships. According to statistics, more than 35% of people worldwide are connected to a Facebook account, which often serves as the primary source of social interaction for individuals. Family and friends stay connected through frequent status updates and picture/video uploads, making traditional activities like phone calls and face-to-face conversations seem unnecessary. In fact, today’s society knows more about their neighbors, friends, and even perfect strangers than ever before, largely due to Facebook.
The problem, however, is that in our virtual realities, people are becoming numb to traditional notions of privacy and the idea of not airing their dirty laundry in public. Ask yourself, “Are your posts on Facebook TMI?”
The Shift in Social Boundaries
Researchers believe that the phenomenon of people revealing too much personal information on platforms like Facebook or Twitter occurs because computers lack a face — and thus, one of the key elements of communication: the “human factor” that usually prevents people from sharing too much or being overly honest in face-to-face interactions. On Facebook, we can’t gauge someone else’s reaction by seeing their facial expression, nor do we feel the shame that might accompany saying something inappropriate aloud. It’s so easy to just type something and hit “send” without considering the consequences. This has led to what can only be described as “posting rallies.”
According to Facebook, the average user posts at least three times per day. It’s as if people now feel compelled to maintain a running dialogue of their lives on one of the world’s most popular online diaries. The truth is, some of the things that we — and others — post are trivial, with little real-world significance. By continuing to post, we feed the insatiable need of others to be nosy about our lives. Why? Because through our posts, we essentially give people permission to open our metaphorical medicine cabinets, so to speak, without the fear of being caught.
For example, aren’t some of the constant posts on Facebook, such as “My farts smell worse than my dog’s” or “I had tilapia for lunch today,” or “Isn’t Shreddy (my dog) looking funny today,” trivial and silly? Do people really care about these things? Does the world need to know how many days are left until your vacation, your final exams, your anniversary, or your period is expected? Do others genuinely care about what you ate for dinner or who you went to the movies with? Is posting about political preferences or ranting about society really relevant on Facebook? And more importantly, are the things we post truly something we want to share with the world?
In an interesting study about why people “break up” or “unfriend” someone on Facebook, researchers found that it’s primarily because they grow tired of seeing their friends’ constant posts of irrelevant or inappropriate information. Yes, people get frustrated with the endless updates about how awesome someone’s kids are, how romantic their partner is, or how amazing their life appears. They become irritated with negative or whiny posts and grow suspicious of those who feel the need to display every detail of their lives on one of the world’s most ubiquitous forms of social media.
One of the most popular conversation starters today is, “Did you see what so-and-so posted on Facebook?” Suddenly, we find ourselves judging others based on their Facebook posts. Considering some of the ridiculous things people choose to share, that doesn’t necessarily make us social media experts (and hopefully, we’re not).
But it does make you wonder: What drives us to share the things we do? Why do we suddenly believe that the world — specifically Facebook — actually cares about every move we make? When did it become social media-worthy to report in several times an hour about the state of our lives? And why do so many people ‘like’ these posts, when in reality, they’re grimacing, shaking their heads, and wondering what’s wrong with the people they call “Facebook friends”? Are we really so consumed with our own lives and minute-by-minute activities that we think the world needs to know everything about us? Is it boredom, or has the internet simply depleted our sense of privacy? Have we become so disconnected from real human interactions that our socialization now involves sharing things like how many times we went to the bathroom because of a stomach virus?
The vast majority of us are guilty of oversharing on Facebook at some point. Yet, the reality is that we need to rein in our tendency to expose too much of ourselves online. Not only is it unsafe and unnecessary, but it also does little more than make us look ridiculous in the process.
