Sharing Online
Sometimes I wonder if I share too much online. There is a kind of anonymity to anything I post that frees me to be bolder about things. I know other people will see it, but I don’t feel like they will really be seeing me. Even in personal posts or videos, I feel like it is just me and my computer. The fact that I can’t imagine the audience allows me to post things other people wouldn’t.
I’ve still not decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It might be both.
My friend Ryan calls himself web shy. He barely has a facebook and while I could imagine him being a great blogger he is fearful of blogs and most social media. We are complete opposites. I live on the web. It’s where I keep my photos, my memories, my thoughts. It’s where I get my news, watch my favorite shows, meet new people. I spend more time connected to the web than is probably good for me and couldn’t imagine my life without all the tools it offers me.
Apparently a third of Web users under 25 (me, me!) claim they don’t care about their “digital tattoo” (personal info posted online that is easily found) and the items they post online, says Symantec. They found that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed had uploaded personal photographs, while 79 percent had at least part of their address online and nearly half had their mobile phone numbers online.
Personal photos? Check. Address? Well, I currently live where I work, so check. Mobile phone number? Check.
So many of us digital natives have created online databanks of personal information about ourselves. We’ve been on social networking sites for years. We’ve blogged. We’ve uploaded photos. It’s just part of our lives.
However, quite a few surveyed were concerned about the negative impact their online imprint would have on their reputation and many wished they could erase things online. No one wants to end up getting fired via facebook or because of their blog. While we want to share and feel comfortable doing so, it seems many of us forget about the audience that does in fact exist. We forget that their could be negative consequences to sharing online.
Personally, I am not unhappy with anything that is online under my name. I do share a lot online and some of it very personal, but nothing is inappropriate. I’ve found communities of like-minded people that I could not have found elsewhere. I’ve also been smart enough to think about what I’m posting and doing before I’ve done it (always asking, would I be cool if my mom saw this?). For me there has not yet been a negative side to sharing my life with the interwebs.
What about you? Is there anything online you wish you could erase? Do you think you share too much personal information online?
Sometimes I think I share too much. That’s why I tried to stay anonymous. But with anonymity also comes a feeling of not truly connecting with the people you’re trying to online. It’s a persona you construct, and have to adhere to. You’re not real, you’re a role. It’s tiring.
I try to censor certain things out of what I share online. I don’t have my cell number online, for example ;) Embarrassing recounts of drunken nights. Friends/family who don’t have the same views as me on sharing things online. I try to keep that all to a minimum.
There a rather old webpage I used to have that contains things I wish I could erase but exist now on the internet archive :D The wayback machine :D Hilarious, but embarrassing :D
I put a LOT online. Im ALWAYS online. Its actually happened that Ive met people I barely knew or didn’t know at all and they say oh but hey you blah and I say how did you know that? And they say oh I read it online. Which is kinda weird. But, overall, im way more friendly and its easier to communicate with people online, and theyre usually either way friendlier OR way meaner than real life. However, I can usually avoid the super mean web people. Yes, I do have my photos online…I think my cell phone # is on facebook but its only to my fb friends, I don’t think my address is, beyond my city and neighborhood. However, there are things I feel I cant share, because even though I put so much on my blog, twitter, facebook, etc etc etc, its not actually the real merri, its just part of me. There are a lot of things I could share or say or write that people would be shocked, surprised, dissapointed, or maybe just not care, but I don’t put them up. Maybe how you have two blogs and only one mary and I’m sure theres still a lot more to you than people who know you online can tell.
I’m pretty sure that I don’t regret anything I’ve put on the Internet, but I’ve definitely shared A LOT about myself. If someone really wanted to, I’m sure that they could find basically my entire life story spread out in bits and pieces across the web. In a way it’s weird. In another way, it’s neat that there’s so many fragments of peoples’ lives just out there for anyone to find.
Mary!! I found your new page with no problems. :)
I have a “online” version of myself, but it is not 100% accurate. I find myself online ALL THE TIME but not really posting a lot because I’m afraid it will seem too nerdy or boring. But I surf constantly. I think it is better for you to actually be talking with people and making friends than just stalking like I do!
You say that you can be free online without considering how people view you — I’m the opposite: I’m constantly revising my online self, trying to seem cool but not dispassionate, smart but not nerdy, pretty (in all my FB pics — did you see my new engagement photos yet?!?!?!) but not vain . . . but that’s all show. Really, I think we all just feel a little bit lonely and use the internet to fill that gap.
So, do you think filling the lonely-void (whether it’s ten minutes between class or hours each day blogging and tweeting) with online communications is equally beneficial to filling it with person-to-person contact?
@MaryBeth
OMG YOU ARE ENGAGED!! Okay, I kinda knew that because the photos did pop up in my news feed but I didn’t have time to look at it. Congrats, btw! I’m soo excited for you! :)
I think you have a point about using the internet to fill the void. When I don’t have anyone around I love hopping online because I can always connect with someone, even if that someone is not a person I know in real life. It can make me feel a little less lonely when I’m sending a friend a facebook message or checking up on someone. It’s the feeling of being connected even if you can’t be.
I honestly don’t think that anything can be equal to the face-to-face interaction with another person. Twitter, facebook, etc. might be fun and fulfill that lonely-void, but it isn’t the same thing as holding a real conversation. It can’t fulfill you in the same way. I think it has its place (clearly, I’m a fan) but it shouldn’t take over I try to be aware of it and keep it from taking over, but I’m not great at that (I am bad about texting people when I’m with people). So while I think it isn’t the same, and will never be as good, I still think it has benefits, like meeting people you wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to meet.
I’ve been online since ’96 and leaving trails of myself since ’99. There is quite a bit of detailed information about me out there on the net. That said, I don’t regret any of it. Some of it has been used against me and some of it has garnered both friends and jobs. All in all it evens itself out.
Thanks girl! I totally agree. I would die if I didn’t have the internet to keep in touch with far away friends. Seriously. Miss you!!
Do I share too much personal information online? Hmm, I probably do actually!
I’ve been penning comments here there and everywhere. It’s not the official line but just random thoughts that drop into my head at the time. Some funny, some serious, some thoughtful. If someone really wanted to collate them all I don’t know what they’d make of it but it’s the real me.
No two days are the same, no two feelings alike. If people don’t like the real me then that’s too bad. I’m not a one dimensional robot posting information according to a rota and predefined information, I’m a real person with real emotions and a real desire to connect, find out about other people and share my own experiences.
I think you’re doing the same thing here and it’s great to hear about your thoughts. Hopefully no one will hold it against us:)