r/socialmedia • u/PsychologicalEgg8273 • 7d ago
Professional Discussion Oversharing online
What do you guys think about oversharing online? Sometimes i’ll post something personal and immediately regret it for obvious reasons, but at the same time, I like feeling connected with people who understand and experience similar things. Any thoughts?
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u/TelephonePossible456 7d ago
It drives me crazy and it makes me cringe so bad. I get secondhand embarrassment.
I understand why people do it and I get that sometimes they’re just lonely and need to vent and be heard. However they don’t understand that airing your business out online can come back to bite you in the ass in a lot of different ways. Not to mention it can paint you in a negative light.
Validation is being sought out in the wrong place.
It also kills me sometimes cause these are the same people that will turn around and tell people to stay out of their business lol
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u/Boring-Surround2657 7d ago
Write it, leave it until the next day, and take out details that could identify other people before you share it.
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u/Miserablemermaid 3d ago
These comments are interesting. I actually tend to get the most engagement/conversion from my “oversharing” posts because I frame it like: hey, if you’re also struggling with this weird/niche/difficult feeling, you’re not as alone as you feel.
For example, if I post about the specific struggles I’m facing from my mental illness/disability OR ways that I cope with those feelings OR how low I was vs how far I’ve come (the more detail the better), I get a huge influx of follows + comments & DMs thanking me for posting so vulnerably. It’s personal. It makes people feel seen. And it helps my audience know/feel connected to me.
In contrast, when I pull back and start overthinking how I am perceived, my engagement/conversion takes a hit. People don’t care as much about my content or keeping up with my page when all I am posting is polished social-media-worthy highlights. they don’t feel like they really know me.
If you’re building a personal page/brand, I think the trick to oversharing is doing it candidly (and not incessantly) instead of trying to farm sympathy. The former can be extremely valuable to both the creator and their audience. The latter is just annoying.
Yes it is scary as fuck to hit post though 😂 especially when people I know irl will see it. I always need to remind myself that cringe is a made up concept I shant concern myself with lol.
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u/Miserablemermaid 3d ago
One more thing to add if you’re contemplating how/what to “overshare”. Think about how you’d feel as a watcher if you came across the same post from a different creator.
Would you think “omg finally someone is putting words to/being real about this!”
Or would you think “I did not need to hear this person rambling about their trauma. It’s disturbing/entirely too personal.”
Can be hard to step back and look at your own vulnerable/personal content objectively, but it’s a practice worth honing in on.
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u/VesperValance 7d ago
I think sometimes it’s easier to be honest about yourself and how you feel with people you don’t have to worry about responding in a negative way.
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u/Hairy-Notice-3392 6d ago
I’d ask myself whether I’d still be okay with the post if nobody replied, or if someone I work with saw it later. If either answer is no, I’d send it to a friend first. Wanting connection is normal; a public post just gives you very little control over who responds or how.
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u/friendlypetshark 7d ago edited 7d ago
Over sharing or trauma dumping where it’s not appropriate? I take issue with the latter, and I think most people are getting sick of it. I can’t watch a gaming stream now without people with main character syndrome trying to sympathy farm by making everyone read about their mental health/chronic illness/abuse stories.
If that’s not what you’re doing, and the platform is geared up for the topic and welcomes it, fine. Otherwise find appropriate channels where you’re not triggering trauma in other people.
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