12 April

"...news from our friends about their families’ triumphs and trials has become omnipresent, unrelenting—a never-ending vacation slide show from hell." 'Oversharers' often see FB as like an extension of their actual lives. It's like opening the old social pages in the middle of the local newspaper. There's nothing wrong with that either, sharing those things is nice, in moderation dare I say. But the weird part is how many can't see FB in any other way, if you don't post personal things for example, people will see those posts as a reflection on the life you're living, they'll suggest the person is dull or an 'overthinker'. As if FB is supposed to be some picture of a person and their life. Often posts have very little connection to the everyday life somebody is living, they're just ideas they want to talk about. 'Overthinking' is an illusion caused by oversharing. FB is a public space, not a private space, it's the people who understand and respect that distinction who share less, not more, and use FB for more public activities, like discussion. It's about respect and vanity too, about not assuming the details of your personal life are actually interesting to other people. It's what they try to teach kids in schools about social media.