I was on one of those really long car rides by myself coming home from college. It was 7 whole hours with nothing but me, my two beta fish and the large piles of boxes filled with stuff I used over the past 2 semesters. Even though I’m a radio major, I sometimes get sick of hearing the same old songs all the time and just like quiet so I listened to nothing but my thoughts for about half the car ride. For some reason, it felt kind of strange sitting in total silence for that long, strange yet at the same time relaxing.
In today's society, I don’t think many of us are too used to quiet too much and we rarely ever get time to just sit and reflect, and yet reflecting can be important. As soon as most of us get any thought or feeling at all, we have the need to instantly share it with the world and sometimes we do it without even thinking about it. Maybe it’s because technology now allows us to share our lives with others so easily. Or maybe it’s because we as humans are naturally such social creatures, but regardless of the reason oversharing definitely has its consequences. Here are some of the consequences we face with this habit many of us today have.
Sometimes we are so obsessed with sharing our lives with others that we can forget to live in the moment when it happens
Whether it’s us taking our phones out to record that concert we went too, or even making constant snapchats when hanging out with friends, it’s evident that nowadays recording an event for later enjoyment has become nearly as important if not more important than enjoying the event itself. I remember some of the old movies and shows I’d see from the 70s and 80s, parents who took tons of pictures and videos were usually labeled as embarrassing and intrusive but now we all can’t stop taking pictures of ourselves and everything we do. Imagine just how ridiculous it would look if every smartphone you see in the picture was instead one of those old school video cameras, we'd all look like those annoying intrusive parents and in a way we are, our smart phones just do a good job at hiding it all.
Who we are on social media also starts to become part of our identities
Sometimes we'll even go to an event that we would otherwise wouldn't just to get photo’s or snap chats because it somehow makes us look cool or interesting. Just a few weeks ago when Donald Trump Came into my college town, it was evident that half the people there weren't interested in what he had to say, or were even into politics at all. Most of them came there because that was where the publicity was and going to an event like that makes you seem cool because it gives you something to talk about. I’ve even seen people take videos of themselves while going zip lining because showing your friends that you had a good time is obviously way more important than having the good time itself because it gives you the status of a fun person.
Oversharing can cheapen the meaning of time spent with someone special
A special moment between two people can lose meaning if you document it for the whole world to see. Imagine if everyone knew about every intimate moment between you and your significant other. There is a reason why most couples that we see on those reality shows like the bachelor and bachelorette don't last. Everybody knowing about a relationship and even its problems can turn any two person situation or argument, that could otherwise be easily fixed, into a monumental disaster. There is a reason why Romeo and Juliette wanted their love to be secret, the less people that knew, the less trouble. When the moment you share with someone special is truly just with that person it makes it that much more meaningful. Just think about it. Nothing bonds two people together more than sharing a secret, because it's the ultimate sine of trust.
Saying too much can sometimes get you into trouble with others
As someone who is an extrovert, I can definitely say that talking too much and especially venting your feelings can really get you into trouble with others. There have been countless times where I have been caught venting about someone or something, just to have that person walk into the room a minute later and hear everything I said. The funny thing too is that most of us don’t really mean half of what we say when we do vent and say things out of anger. In person, this can be easier to forget and move on from, but on social media it becomes more permanent. I'm pretty sure we have all had a Facebook memory/ Time hop or 2 we have seen and rolled our eyes at because how we felt the moment we wrote that status or sent the message, isn't the way you will sometimes feel in the future .
The Telephone Effect makes Stories change
That game they made us all play in elementary school called telephone, the one where everyone would stand in a line and the first person would say a message that had to go down the row till the last person said it out loud, has meaning to it than one would think. Usually the message as it goes down the line changes and in many cases what the last person in the line heard is way different than what the first person in the line originally said. It is our nature to share information we hear with one another and it is also our nature to put our own spin on it. Sharing too much information with too many people opens up more opportunities for stories to get skewed. Online where communication is less direct, things get misinterpreted all the time. I've seen people have all out fights and even friendships break up about things that were misread on social media. I think we all have been on the wrong side of a story or rumor at one time or another and It's because it's just human nature to talk about things so much.
This song explains it all perfectly
I know that most are probably thinking by now-- man what a hypocrite! She is preaching to us all about oversharing, yet every week she shares her articles. I'll admit when it comes to over sharing, I'm probably one of the more guilty ones. I’m not saying don’t share anything, but thinking and reflecting about what you post and say before you say it is important. I was nominated for being the most talkative in my high school yearbook and I used to own the title I almost got with pride, but maybe it’s not something to be proud of. It’s not the quantity of you say that is important, but what you say. There are many words in the English language, many ways to take a picture, and only one opportunity to make a first impression, so it’s best to choose what you represent yourself with carefully.
