Oversharing Online

 Oversharing online is a controversial topic that I think might have people divided: have you ever seen a friend's post and wonder, "why would they post something like that?"

Image of Facebook feed page with "What's on your mind?"

That being said, I have to admit that I've had that reaction to someone's post in which they posted something I really didn't want to know or see. However, I can also understand why people overshare or post about their lives often - I have been one of those people before, because at the time it was therapeutic for me. I felt a weight lifted off of me when I would post about something that was happening in my life. I believe this is a case in which platforms like Facebook or Instagram can be beneficial to someone's mental health. For some people it truly does help to tell their story the way they want it to be told, not by someone else. It's almost like taking some kind of control over what happened to us, even though we really had little to no control over whatever happened.

However, Facebook and Instagram can be really harmful to one's mental health too, especially if you doesn't know how to take a break from social media. Often people only post the good, or at least that's what it seems like. It's a facade, but from our end it might look like someone you know has it all. We also have a problem with influencers nowadays. We follow all these celebrities and influencers, and I think that may cause some people to be unhappy with their own lives, because they're looking at people on social media living glamorous lives daily.

Instagram's page showing 473M followers.

I don't know what the ideal number of Facebook friends would be for the good of one's mental health, but I do know that before social media, relationships were meant to die out. I mean all kinds of relationships, not just romantic ones. We meet people all the time, but now we think we're supposed to stay connected. In some instances networking is great because it can open doors for us, but we need to learn to recognize when staying connected with someone is harmful to us. Sometimes our friendships and connections serve their purpose and we're supposed to let go. But social media has made the letting go just a bit harder, and it lingers to where it's harming the good it once served.