Sunday, September 15, 2013
Over Share Much?
Oh, your dog just got fixed? Your mom made oatmeal raisin cookies? You have athlete's foot? ...Your mom had an affair, contracted herpes, got pregnant and transferred herpes to your baby half-brother during childbirth? Man, life's crazy, huh?
These sound ridiculous and I know you would NEVER post something like THAT...but, I've read all of these posts and many other disturbing bits of info on my Facebook news feed from "friends". And this is the number one reason I do not frequent Facebook and I'm sure I'm not alone.
Though annoying, there may be a science of sorts behind the reason why so many of us feel almost compelled to share information about ourselves and our day-to-day lives to 500 of our closest friends.
Some of the latest research to on the issue of Facebook over sharing comes from professor Russell W. Belk, chair in marketing at York University in Toronto. His recent paper on the subject, “Extended Self in a Digital World,” will appear in the Journal of Consumer Research in October.
He writes, “Sharing itself is not new, but consumers now have unlimited opportunities to share their thoughts, opinions, and photos, or otherwise promote themselves and their self-image online. Digital devices help us share more, and more broadly, then ever before.”
Social media wants us to share; it wants us all to share. Belk points out that YouTube’s slogan is “Broadcast Yourself.” Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter ask us “What do you have to Share?” “What’s happening?” “What’s on your mind?” …basically seducing us into divulging the day’s details, all to fill a communication void, according to recent research. This is only made better (or is it worse?) by mobile devices with all their websites and apps.
I suppose some entertainment can be gained from these over share posts. Both the Facebook fails of the average idiot, the online bragging of criminals and the over shares of moms are conveniently compiled and can be found on the Internet for our reading enjoyment. It's probably better if we all just don't though...right?
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This is one of the main reasons why I am traveling farther and farther away from Facebook each day. There are so many posts, that are really annoying. There are a lot of posts, that have no meaning at all, and i just get more annoyed each day of them. So i also feel your pain, when you see these posts that have no meaning at all from your Facebook friends.
ReplyDeleteI am also on the same boat, I don't go on Facebook as often as I used too. Basically I just go on it if I'm bored and play games. Otherwise I don't see the need as to why people post the things you listed and other things like just got done eating dinner or going to go for a walk. Who cares is all I think about when I see those posts, and to see less of those posts, I went through my "friends" list and decreased the number of my friends extremely.
ReplyDeleteOh wow!! I had never seen the “Facebook fails of the average idiot”, “online bragging of criminals”, or the “over shares of moms” before. All I have to say is wow! Now all be it, this is some funny reading, but what those people are doing to themselves. Whether you say you don’t care what others think or not, you have to remember EVERY ONE can see what you are posting. The internet is not private. I am with you on not being a real frequenter of Facebook. I enjoy some of the posts out there, but I too have seen some of the most ridiculous things posted or pictures shown on there. People really need to wake up and think before they post! Do you ever wonder just who really is reading all your posts? Do you think there might be those you don’t want to know SO much about you? I know I think about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy to see what people post sometimes. Some people enjoy reading the interesting and wild posts of others for entertainment and some things I would rather not know. For the most part, my friends usually keep the real personal issues to themselves or off of Facebook. I was also not shocked to see that there were criminals caught on Facebook from bragging about it. It just shows how smart those people really are. I have heard of people posting pictures and they were not supposed to be there or doing that, so they got busted, all from Facebook. Yes, Facebook is a good way to keep up with friends and stay in touch, but on the other hand if not used carefully, it will cause problems!
ReplyDeleteAlright, this is hilarious. The over sharing people do on Facebook is beyond ridiculous and although the herpes infested love child may sound like a stretch, I swear I have read things on Facebook that are not too far off from that. I am skeptical about a portion of humanity being capable of tying their own shoes in the morning, but this does not mean that I want to read about their attempts along with what they ate for breakfast. I love reading life events from people on Facebook and seeing my friends grow, this is what Facebook should be used for.
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