I’ll be the first one to admit, that I too was once enamored with putting everything out there on Facebook for everyone to see. A yummy plate of food, my freshly-polished toes hanging by the pool deck, and concert selfies with my bestie—the list could go on for a long, long while—and for many years, in fact. But for whatever reason lately, and I think it is because of the massive overload of news and political point-of-views, that I find my daily visit(s) to my feed as less of a “break” in my routine, and more irritating than anything else. And besides the political component, the higher frequency of oversharing on feeds also really bothers me—and so my thoughts on this entire subject is just…

At what point do we keep anything sacred and to ourselves, and to our loved ones, anymore?

I know it’s normal to post selfies, photos of our (well, yours, because all I have are fur-babies) kids and something when we get excited about something—I get it it. But when it’s photos of your kids every single day for every single milestone they have, when sweet words to significant others are expressed via a non-private post that a partner is tagged in, details on serious medical or personal issues, random bouts of passive-aggressiveness (and in some cases, just plain old aggressiveness), and not-so-subtle pats on our own backs for acts of kindness—that’s when I become over the overload of it all.

Facebook is personal, and to each their own about what they want to write, read, post, like and share. But when is the point where we take it too far? 

For me, personally, I “like” a lot of memes, share more pics of my pets than anyone could ever actually give a shit about (hey, at least I admit it). Maybe that’s my own way of being active without getting too personal. My blog is where shit gets real, so on Facebook I like to keep light, but that’s just me.

The truth is, that if it weren’t for my blog and graphic design page, which I utilize this platform to share on, and be one of the only ways that family, friends, and former roommates and colleagues and I keep in touch—I’m not quite sure if I would even want it anymore. I’ve heard from those who have stopped using their accounts that it is a freeing feeling, that they have so much more time in their day, and that they are happier simply because they aren’t comparing what is going on in their own lives with that of others. All of our lives look different on many levels, and are often not even comparable, but yet we make blanket assumptions that a couple selfie means blissful happiness, and that a smiling child means that they’re perfect, and a single life without any of those things is a fun one without responsibility—none of these actually being true, of course.

Back when I first signed up for Facebook was the time when one still had to log in via a computer at the end of a fun weekend to post photos, and everyone’s business wasn’t at the fingertips of our phones. I miss not knowing what is going on with someone, and actually wanting to pick up the phone to say hello to find out. I miss the days when I would go out to dinner and people were speaking to one another—enjoying things in the moment without having this urge to post a photo of an act of something. I miss boundaries. I miss not having your bosses and coworkers know every twist and turn of your personal life, two areas that for me were once perfectly compartmentalized.

For me, social media has always been a place for friends, acquaintances, people that I used to know, and people that I’d like to get to know—not coworkers, clients, friends’ parents or even friends’ kids—and for whatever reason, it is really hard for me to make that transition to everyone.

And last but not least, I miss not giving a shit about likes or even having the urge to share something—even this!

So now that I’ve summed up my perspective, what’s yours? Is it just me, or are there others that are a little more socially awkward than we’d care to admit?