On Our Minds
Queen of the Overshare
May 6th, 2010
Written by: Juliana Gonzalez
I don’t know if you know this about me or not…but I am not a shy person. Nor am I easily embarrassed. I also like to talk. Surprise. Combine these factors and you can easily see why I have been dubbed “Queen of the Overshare.” (Actually, I really shouldn’t claim the Queen title, that crown will forever be held by my best friend Jess, but ‘Princess’ just doesn’t have the same effect.) It makes sense that these charming personality traits would spill over into my Facebook updates where I’ve been known to post about anything from how often I wash my hair (less than you would think), to the fact that I continue to accidentally flash my neighbors while waiting for my blinds, to way too many videos and pictures of my adorable little niece.
The debate about just HOW much is too much info on social networking sites has been going on as long as I can remember, and although I’m not shy about my motives for using social media, I must admit I haven’t really formed an opinion on this subject until recently.
I joined Facebook in the early, only-open-to-college-student days, when it was used to communicate with friends, not brands. There was minimal risk of your mom finding out you drove to California for the weekend or your boss catching on to the fact that the ‘food poisoning’ you caught at dinner last night is actually from all the cocktails you had after. Mostly because they didn’t even know what Facebook was. It began as place for communication about yourself and your friends, and although it was public, it was more likely the people connected to you were in your immediate social circle. Only in recent years has it transformed into a more professional, widely public forum.
I’m sure at this point it’s pretty clear where I stand. I’m not offended by the overshare. If you want to fill in the world on your barfing dog or how much you hate those people twirling signs on every corner, please feel free. I’m always entertained by what other people are doing, and you can get tons of useful info from reading other peoples status updates, (Lady Gaga presale password, holla!) but the reasons behind my POV are simple. You can see and share with others as much as you want if you know how to use Facebook. If you don’t want to see my 12-month-old niece doing her downward dog pose, then hide my status updates. If you don’t want your dad to see you chain smoking then change the privacy settings on your photo albums. Create a list with a permanent privacy setting, so you never have to worry about your family members or colleagues reading a jumbled status update posted at 1:48 a.m.
Facebook settings probably can’t make all your social networking dreams come true, but they can make the experience more enjoyable for everyone if you spend a little time exploring what they can offer.
Now check out this adorable baby.
