Oversharing in the Digital Age
Full disclosure: I’m slightly intoxicated after a night of mixed drinks (mostly wine and beer– so sue me?) So I apologize if this is going to be full of typos. I got way too excited that I was invited to Svbtle. Also, I am sorry for those who are going to see this. Or my blog posts in general. Oh man, you guys are going to suffer.
(As an aside, I’m still getting pretty used to this Markdown language, so I apologize. Though I love the interface of Svbtle and the general simplicity and ease that comes with blogging– I am not a huge fan of Markdown. It is yet another text language I will have to become more familiar with.)
With the advent of my first Svbtle account– I thought I’d revise an article that originally first appeared on my blog.
So, I know my generation (I’m a millenial– sue me?) gets a lot of flack for being so engrossed in technology and social media that we forget what is right in front of us. This is true. We are also known as the generation that divulges way too much. We share our whole lives on the internet. Where else can we share pictures from last Friday night (dear Lord, please don’t fucking post those,) or show each other videos of adorable cats (As a side note: I am allergic to cats, so I’m not too fond of them. But the ones with the flat fat faces are ‘sew kyuuuuute.’) I do believe that oversharing in the digital age has detrimental side effects– but honestly, for me, it works out well. And here are my main three reasons why:
- It is very difficult for me to be open about my life with those who surround me. Blogging allows me to let my feelings out with having a minimal audience, or at least an audience that I can’t see, know, etc. It helps me sort through my feelings and provides a venue where I can let them all out. Sometimes this can be difficult to share with others, but my blog serves as an outlet for me. It’s a way I can express myself without having to filter. (Not like I do anyway, and that sort of brings me to my next point.)
- I don’t give a fuck about what most people think about me. This serves as an outlet for me to say and write pretty much whatever I want. I like sharing my experiences, and I like writing about them so I can really understand what happened. Of course, I try to keep the other parties of my blog entries anonymous because it’s not fair to expose them and put them on blast. (The only people I do not keep anonymous are people that I have established are a big part of my life. So, that’s a thing.) I feel like if I gave a shit about what people thought about me, I wouldn’t be confessing half of the things I do on my blog. I wouldn’t be writing my feelings– I wouldn’t be a writer. (This reason is also sort of ironic because while I don’t give a fuck about what most people think about me, the people that I really do care about… I adore and want them to think the world of me.)
- I’m a relational person: writing out my experiences helps me understand myself and others much better. Admittedly, I may or may not be the Taylor Swift of online dating. I’ve put many men on blast for the terrible dates and experiences that have gone terribly wrong. I always say that I can get a story out of it, no matter how good or bad the experience is… but I feel badly for those men. And I’m sorry about that. It’s why I don’t post your names. It is also why I try my hardest to write in order to understand what they were going through. Were they even thinking about my feelings? Or maybe they were, and that’s why they did what they did. Either way, I “overshare” because I’m sure others (who end up stumbling upon my blog) have had similar experiences. I like knowing that there are people out there that have gone through the same things that I have. Especially when it comes to instances like Andrew (my pre-Catfish Catfish,) or Fedora (the guy who was ready to put a ring on it before the first date.) I love knowing that there are kindred souls out there that have been through the same things, and that we’re all working through these situations together, that we’ve been there at one point or another.
So, to be honest with you- I like sharing! I’d rather get everything out there than keep it in.