Every time I log into Facebook, I’m overwhelmed by a stream full of personal life details.
A childhood acquaintance shares every little detail of her pregnancy. A college classmate complains constantly about how much he hates his job. Another friend shares a stream full of passive-aggressive tweets, which seems to point to a lack of closure post-breakup. Another woman shares way too many details about her failing marriage. And a friend-of-a-friend uses his status to declare his love for his girlfriend and his intent to be with her forever and ever.
When I scroll through my news feed, I get this overwhelming feeling that I’m intruding on people’s personal lives. It’s slightly annoying: and if we’re being honest here, it’s a little uncomfortable.
I don’t think sharing nitty, gritty life details is a bad thing; social networks are all about connecting with people in a more personal way. But I’m starting to realize that maybe- just maybe- we’ve gotten too comfortable with allowing acquaintances to join our networks and delve too deep into our personal lives.
The instances I mentioned above, like the pregnant woman or the individual going through a divorce, are using Facebook to share tidbits that would normally be shared with a tight-knit group of trusted family members and friends. But instead, they’ve decided to entrust their intimate moments with a wide network of acquaintances and friends-of-friends: including me.
When posting, I think it’s a good rule of thumb to ponder: Does everyone I’ve allowed in my network need to know this? If the answer is no, then feel free to share your information with friends and family via email, texts or Facebook messages. Believe it or not, e-mail isn’t extinct, my friends.
So what do you think? Have we lost the point of social networks? Have we let too many people into our personal lives? What’s the fine line between being personable and sharing too much?
Rebecca- Once again you have hit the nail right on the head. Sure, I’ve had my moments, we all do at some point, but the amount I know about “friends” is insane. Honestly, the pregnancy posts annoy me so much, I’ve unfollowed people for them. It’s great they are happy to be pregnant but I don’t need to see a “belly photo” every day. Frankly I don’t want to world knowing all my business. My friends and family are there for me and that’s all I need. Great post!
Stephanie: I am so glad you understand! Constant updates about something as personal as a pregnancy can make me uncomfortable and annoyed, too. Sharing exciting news with an entire network, like buying a house or getting a new job, is great: but people sometimes take it too far!
TOTALLY AGREE. I don’t need to know what specific foods my cousin’s baby threw up all over the floor this morning. I cringe every time a certain acquaintance from church bashes her husband in her status. I don’t need to know if someone has “checked in” to work, a restaurant, etc. I’m not sure if it’s possible NOT to feel like I’m stalking anyone on FB anymore. And yet- if I close my account, it’s social and now marketing suicide. What’s a social media addict to do?
Abby: I totally feel the same way! There’s been plenty of times I’ve considered deactivating my account… but then I wouldn’t be able to keep up-to-date with those who matter. I’ve learned to 1. Hide people from my news feed, when necessary; and 2. Write ridiculous rants, like this one.
I would have to politely disagree here. No, I don’t necessarily need to know about the trials and tribulations of someone’s divorce or pregnancy, but someone is finding that information interesting. It just may not be you. The value of a post can be determined not only by the person reading it, but by the person posting that information. Not everyone may care that I was attacked by a goose at work the other day, but I hope someone in my friend count finds it interesting or humorous. Social media is intrusive, but that is one of the many glories of it for most people. If it wasn’t, it’d lose half it’s value.
OK, I need to stop commenting on your post and maybe write my own lol. But I clearly need to be following some of the interesting people you do
And if that friend-of-a-friend is Justin, sorry Rebecca. We will be together forever and ever 
I really like your argument here, Samantha. I often get a kick out of the daily occurrences of those I wouldn’t be in contact with if Facebook didn’t exist. That’s the beauty of social networking, but I think some people take it too far. They view Facebook as a therapy session/sounding board instead of a network for sharing.
And no, it isn’t Justin. You two are beyond adorable, and it’s nice to see what an effort you’ve both made to stay in touch while he’s in Africa!
I have to agree with Sam on this one. I’m one of those people in your Facebook news feed who posts sad song lyrics as a status update. Heck, I have one up there now.
Is the point of social networking to connect with other people? Yes. Is it annoying when people share too much information? Yes. But it’s also a forum for free expression to speak your mind and share your thoughts and feelings. It has served as a great outlet for me.
My suggestion is to block those people from your news feed if you prefer not to see their personal posts. But you would probably miss out on some great ideas for blog posts! Just saying
Shantae: You’re the queen of sappy status updates. Even Elvis Duran knows that.
Just like with Sam, I definitely see your point. Social media is a great way to express yourself (as Madonna would say!) and share your favorite links, photos, quotes, etc. I’m guilty of it too; I love sharing random photos/thoughts through my accounts.
But some people take it a little too far. I think it’s safe to share your life details if you know you’ve built a close-knit network of those you trust, but if you’ve opened up your network to acquaintances and random contacts, it can be risky.
I personally wouldn’t want to share my life crises with my network, but that’s just me. As you know, I don’t even share my relationship status via Facebook (another blog post for another day!) I guess I just need learn to either hide people or remove them.