How Much Should we be Sharing Online? | Social Media Discussion

~ sophienaylor1

Hi, loves!

I thought this would be an interesting topic to write about as there seems to be so many mixed opinions on the matter. How much should we share online? Are we sharing too much? Is it a good or bad thing?

Many people believe that, due to social media being on the rise, people are beginning to share too much of their personal life online. We’ve all seen that person on Facebook who shares what they’ve had for their tea, what they’re up to, what they got from the shop… Annoying, right? But do we really have a right to tell someone to stop sharing every moment of their day online? And is it really as negative as everyone’s making out? If someone’s posts are annoying you, there is a delete/block button you can click and within a second their posts are gone from your feed! Easy, right? I’m a firm believer that if you don’t like what someone posts, delete them. You have no right to tell them what they can and can’t post, and they probably won’t listen to you anyway! Stop wasting your time.

There are three types of people in this world: the one’s who share EVERYTHING, the one’s who share barely anything/nothing, and the one’s in between. In between feels like a happy medium to me. Personally, I take a step back from social media when I feel I am only doing things to post on social media, for example going for a meal just so I can post a picture of the food on my Instagram. Now, THAT is not healthy. However, going for a meal because you want to and then deciding to post a picture isn’t unhealthy at all, in my opinion. I don’t think sharing what you’ve got up to throughout the day is a bad thing at all, as long as it’s kept light hearted and fun.

Now, mental health is obviously what my blog is all about. I share quite a lot of my personal life online for my readers, as I want to help people and help raise awareness of mental illness. I don’t share everything, but I do share a lot. An example of this is my August mental health update. That post is very real and raw as I shared a lot of my own personal thoughts, feeling and issues. I was unsure whether it was too personal to share on my blog, but I’m so glad I posted it as I received SO many lovely comments from you guys and brilliant advice. For me, sharing such a personal part of my mental health journey/life has been incredibly beneficial in my recovery and has helped me feel less alone in what I’m feeling and experiencing.

If someone wants to post the majority of their personal life online, who are we to tell them they shouldn’t? It’s completely their choice and if they want to share more than you do, there’s nothing wrong with that. My only advice would be to think through what you’re posting and remember that what you post online is there forever. Be safe!

What do you guys think about this topic? Let me know down in the comments – I’d love to hear your guys’ thoughts.

Lots of love,

Soph. xx

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Published by sophienaylor1

52 thoughts on “How Much Should we be Sharing Online? | Social Media Discussion”

  1. How much people want to share is up to them, but there might be a line before it can be something that they will regret sharing. I don’t mind knowing what’s new with people, as long as it’s not like super spammy (I really don’t want to see 50 IG posts from one person in one day). People shouldn’t be doing it for the gram, they should be doing it for themselves, first and all. I don’t share everything going on with my life, just the bits :).

    Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me

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    1. Yeah, I completely agree! There’s always a line where it becomes blurry whether someone should really be posting something. The most annoying thing is when people air their relationship problems all over Facebook – I don’t think anyone wants to see that! Thank you for your comment x

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  2. I feel that often it can be quite easy to fall into the rabbit hole and oversharing on social media – I mean look at how many YouTubers and bloggers who make their living from their platforms who when they first started always seemed to give their entire selves to their audience and now are only starting to build up walls. I think putting a lot of yourself out there can be really dangerous to your sense of self and it’s important to find your happy medium. For me, this is something I’m definitely trying to maintain and before I post anything on any platform I do think should I be sharing this – one of the reasons why I hardly post on instagram. This was a really interesting post with some very good points.

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    1. I completely see what you mean! I have noticed so many youtube’s share less of their personal life now, which I think may be a reason it’s harder to grow on social media now as people are more wary of what they’re posting and therefore don’t get as close to their followers. however, as you said, it’s something that’s extremely necessary as sometimes things should be kept private in order to protect yourself mentally and physically. thank you for your comment!

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  3. Really interesting discussion point. I think there should be a balance with what you share online, but if someone really wants to share lots then it is entirely up to them. Equally, if people are sharing something that could be potentially upsetting to others then they should ensure that they include some warnings before they do share. You also make a good point that if someone is sharing too much for you, then it is probably worth not following them anymore, then you know that you are protecting yourself.
    On the other hand, we need to make sure that we are protecting those that are growing up with access to social media as they may be more likely to share too much about themselves that they may regret as they get older or may make them vulnerable to others!

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    1. I think social media users should definitely be thinking about whether what they’re posting could come back to haunt them in the future, and they should be protecting themselves over anything else, however I do think if they choose to post personal things they should be able to without judgement. I’m kind of on the fence on this one – I see both sides equally. I completely agree about the trigger warnings, it’s the persons responsibility to ensure their posts are marked with a TW If they may be understandably distressing to others. I can’t stand seeing irresponsible people not mark a TW on sensitive posts – it doesn’t take long! Thank you so much for your comment x

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  4. This is a great post, and one that needs to be discussed more I think – I see a lot of people on all ends of the sharing spectrum, and there’s some people that can get so agressive about other people’s habits! I’m similar to you and being in between – and I think it’s important to share big things that may be personal like mental health as it helps open the discussion in general and reduce the stigma of it being too personal to share! x

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    1. I completely agree – I always think ‘why can’t they just delete them instead of complaining about what they post?!’ I 100% agree with your point about talking about personal experiences with mental health and raising awareness of it, and that’s actually what inspired me to write this post x

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  5. I love your perspective on this! I feel like I am a pretty guarded person but like how the middle of sharing everything or nothing is sounding. A little personal life info, I think, helps a digital profile feel more like a real, relatable person.

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  6. This is an interesting one! I think some people do share too much because they kinda forget that everyone can see it and end up putting themselves in a tricky situation. I knew someone who got their house burgled because they’d shown their address online before and were posting about their holiday on social media. As long as you’re safe and sensible, how much you share is totally up to you x

    Sophie
    http://www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. Yeah definitely, personally I tweet anything and everything forgetting that people can see it.. I wake up like ohhhh no why did I do that haha! Oh really?! That’s so scary. Yeah, my address is something I’d never post online that’s so dangerous x

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  9. I have an Instagram and a Facebook that I don’t use because I don’t like sharing my life that openly. I do share a lot of personal things on here only because this is where I comfortable sharing my life. I want to be more open about mental health and spread awareness and talk about things that people don’t normally share.

    I do get annoyed when I see people posting everything good and bad. They use social media as a place to complain about their life to get responses from people. I don’t like that. I do agree that everyone has a right to use social media how they like.

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  10. I think what gets me is the way behaviors and experiences have been altered by social media to be more artificial (I.e. the need to document everything for IG in the most perfect way).

    Given that I can’t change how other people behave – I took a step back. I stopped posting on social media all-together in my personal life, so now I mainly use it for blogging purposes.

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  12. I’m very open on social media however as someone with a job where my name is on controversial legal documents I do think about everything that I post, to make sure I’m not putting myself at risk professionally. Other than that, i’m all for talking very openly on my life and experiences 🙂

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  13. I’d like to think I’m sort of in the middle. I’ve never been one to share loads but I’ve just had a little girl, so I do like to post a couple of us! Otherwise my Instagram is usually filled with my illustrations.

    I went through a little bit where I’d allow myself to get upset at some other’s posts but I now have no hesitation to delete them if this happens.

    Tori | JustTheBeginning-x

    My Latest Post: Who Am I? A little introduction

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  14. Sharing everything on any social media platform ends in no privacy moment. you are sharing about you unknowingly to a stranger. it’s definitely not good. The illusion of likes and hearts and those fake comments. People fall for it and that is really serious. Imagine yourself 15 years back. all those personal privacy doesnot available anymore. and thats the fact. We must be change to make the change a better one Lets make the world a better place.

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  15. I think you shouldn’t post anything that you wouldn’t want a future employer to find.
    For me, I’m a very sweary person. I try to limit that online, especially on my blog accounts, but at the same time, I’ll be true to myself and there are some posts that might make a sailor blush.

    Maybe it’ll stop some brands wanting to work with me.

    But I’d rather be authentically me, and if that means a brand doesn’t want to work with me, then they probably weren’t a brand I could be authentically enthusiastic about.

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    1. I agree with this! I swear a lot in my day to day life and I do the same as you. Try not to swear too much in my blog but also don’t censor myself, as I want this to be solace I’m true to myself. If a brand doesn’t want to work with us for this, that’s their choice and their problem. Thank you for your comment!

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  16. This is such an interesting topic! I find that I don’t really mind people who ‘overshare’ – if it brings someone some peace or comfort to talk to the internet about their daily life then I think that’s a great thing. For myself, I’m only really wary about sharing things that are likely to upset or embarrass people I care about. For instance, I wouldn’t go into graphic detail about my love life for the sake of my husband, and I wouldn’t slag off people online! But apart from that I’m fairly open so I definitely don’t have the right to tell anyone else what to post!
    Beth x Adventure & Anxiety

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  18. Myself and a friend where chatting about this just this morning, there is a very thin line between sharing and over sharing when it comes to the internet and I think it also depends on the person and what they are comfortable with! Thanks for sharing x

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  19. I share your final conclusion on the matter – everyone has a right to do social media as they so choose, and I have a right to follow them or not. If they are sharing more than I care to see, I can delete them, mute them or block them and walk away, but I don’t think we should be telling anyone how to do it. That’s their little corner of the internet to share as much or as little as they so choose.

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    1. I completely agree! There’s noting wrong with deleting someone, but there is something wrong with telling someone what to post because you don’t like what they’re currently posting. Thank you for your insightful comment! i’m glad we agree 🙂 x

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  20. I think each to their own. If you don’t like what someone posts then you have the option to mute, unfollow, scroll on by or block 🙂

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  21. I completely agree with this post. Personally I think I’m a happy medium person too, I often have to try & remember to keep my I stories updated but agree that you shouldn’t be doing anything specifically for them & I make sure not to post anything I’d be bored of seeing on someone else account!
    Soph – https://sophhearts.com x

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  22. Great post. I agree, it’s not really up to anyone what someone else shares online. As long as they’re being safe and respectful! I rarely share anything on Facebook apart from photos if I’ve been away. But I share a lot on Twitter and my blog. But nothing I’m not comfortable sharing! x

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    1. I completely agree! As long as you’re respectful and put a trigger warning on sensitive posts, I think it’s fine. I share a lot on Twitter too because it’s like a mini diary for me, but I’m comfortable with that so if I don’t see an issue then noone else should either! And if they do, they can just unfollow x

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  23. I agree with you so much, I think sharing just enough like not too much or too little is a safe place. I also don’t want social media to run me, I want to run social media. Same as you, I don’t wanna post pics because I think it’ll get me likes, I want it to be because I think it’ll bring happiness or wisdom to someone else. Such a great topic! Thank you for sharing ❤️

    Natonya | https://www.justnatonya.wordpress.com

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  24. It was so interesting to hear your thoughts on this topic! As long as you’re comfortable posting certain aspects of your life, then I say go for it! I agree with what you said about people doing things just for the sake of posting about it, you should do what you want to do and not what you feel like you should be doing for your feed. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    melissakacar.blogspot.com

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  25. Pingback: August Recap 2019 – girl vs world

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