Regardless of age, it seems the majority of people these days are on a social networking site, be it Twitter, Facebook, Tmblr or something else I’ve possibly never heard of.
The general point of all these websites is to connect with friends, old and new, share funny links, music and pictures.
And, regardless of age, there’s a common problem seen on all of these sites.
Over sharing.
When people communicate online instead of face to face, they tend to be more extroverted and more willing to share the mundane parts of their lives with total strangers or acquaintances.
Now, I’m not talking about someone saying, “Just got home from the ER after four hours.” However, if someone says, “Just got home from the ER after four hours because of an ingrown toenail,” that’s a different story.
Gross. We don’t want to hear that. Nobody cares.
Many people who use social networking sites do use them for sharing links and talking to friends, myself included, but then there are the people who want to make the site all about them. And that’s where we run into problems.
Not too long ago, a friend of mine posted a status on Facebook that read, and I quote, “Had a sandwich for lunch. It was good.” Unsurprisingly, she often puts up completely pointless posts, such as, “Bored…” or “I had something to say and then I forgot.”
A lot of times she will post a video or picture, but I bet you can guess what every single one of the videos and pictures are about.
Her.
And oftentimes, they’re of her doing nothing. Possibly waving, or most likely staring soulfully into the camera.
But this isn’t what social networking sites are for, and their members don’t want to waste their time with posts like that.
If you want to tell someone the mundane details of your life, perhaps you should get your very own website. Or a best friend who’s a very, very good listener.
However, social networking sites are neither your own website or your best friend (I hope.)
Instead of telling the whole Internet how bored you are, go find some interesting articles and post links to them. If you want to tell the world about that great sandwich you just made, type up the recipe and share it with your friends. This way you’re sharing things that may be inappropriate for a social networking site in a more appropriate way. Everyone benefits!
Plus, you may be helping one of your fellow bored social networkers.
So please, if you’re one of those people who likes to post things such as “I watched TV today” on social networking sites, find a more productive way to share that thought (is there a link to an interesting part of the show? Or a funny screen cap?) or don’t share it at all.
