You’ve probably cringed at posts your friends have left on Twitter or Facebook, as the platform lures us to spill our biggest — and even most banal — secrets and details in life. Social media is very much entering it’s 2.0 phase, and as this comes to light, all the ugliness that comes with it does, too.
Interestingly, a post circulating the blogosphere this week was not born of social media, although it easily could have been. This one came from a woman business owner’s own blog where she made admissions many of her readers thought inappropriate if not, well, stupid.
From “Things I’m Afraid To Tell You“:
- Mr. Lively and I try to count our drinks per week and limit them to 14 per week total. (Sometimes we are under, sometimes we are over.)
- I have PCOS, so I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to have kids. (This has made me pretty rigid in terms of dating and relationships, more than I’d like to admit.)
- I have been jealous of married friends who have businesses. (I sometimes wish I could supplement my income with a spouse’s paycheck.)
Bloggers erupted in comment and asked the writer why she’d admit to a serious drinking hobby, a medical condition and feelings of jealousy on a blog that’s meant to be in the lifestyle realm but also for clients. Later in the post, she admits to having credit issues. All of this begs the question: When do we share too much on the internet?
In our experience, the internet often warrants taking on online identities (one for business, one for personal) and restricting privacy via platform settings. In the end, this stuff often lives forever, and you’d likely rather be safe — and underexposed — than sorry and out on a serious limb.
Tags: blog, blogging, FMM, Social Media