Keep It Private or Expose It All?

[Parasondox]

We need more love in the world. Enough with the short fuse, impatient mind and narcissistic attitude. Just understand, care for and love one another. More light during the day and less of the nights darkness.

We are all still growing and learning the more and more we progress through life. No one, NO ONE, knows everything that there is in life. You may assume you do, but you really don't. There are so many unanswered questions and mysteries we have that have yet to be solved or may never be solved.

How about ourselves? There are still things about us that we have no answers for and... Do not click away. Wait!! I am going to make a sound point here.

In the past decade, we, yes us as humans, have had the need to tell the world our story. Our life. Share each moment and let those close to us witness the ride we are on. Trying to maybe one up our friends or rivals. To this, I ask, is that worth it?

Do you prefer to keep your life private or do you prefer to let it all out for whatever reason. We all have friends, or ourselves, that take pictures and record videos of everything we do from sleeping, eating, talking, peeing, shitting, wan... not gonna say that one. Nothing is wrong with sharing as my mother would say but does oversharing on ones life cause problems in later life?

Should we still hold on to that sense of privacy because when everything else false, that might be all we have left to escape with?

Your thoughts, your views, your ideas, your money... I mean dedication.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Christ, Para, you type threads like you're getting paid for both word count and bewildering structure. Do you work for Cracked?

Anyway... for the most part, I'm pretty open about my life, internet or in person. Anything I omit can generally be assumed to just being boring.

That being said, privacy is paramount. Full disclosure should be an opt in process, not the standard.

 

[pookie101]

being older it frankly dumbfounds me how little privacy means to a lot of people these days. 'ive got nothing to hide share it all" seems to be the catch phrase.

as for myself.. yeah i tend to keep things private hell i dont even own a mobile phone

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

Do you prefer to keep your life private or do you prefer to let it all out for whatever reason. We all have friends, or ourselves, that take pictures and record videos of everything we do from sleeping, eating, talking, peeing, shitting, wan... not gonna say that one. Nothing is wrong with sharing as my mother would say but does oversharing on ones life cause problems in later life?

Should we still hold on to that sense of privacy because when everything else false, that might be all we have left to escape with?

Your thoughts, your views, your ideas, your money... I mean dedication.

Yes. Sure, it would be nice to live in the world where people do not judge you by the past or hold any prejudice against you for what little bits of info about you they've scrapped somewhere.

We don't live in that world. Preconceptions, prejudice, and first impressions DO matter - it changes how people thinks! Enough to easily ruin your life. Go ahead, I dare you to go to your friends and family and falsely "come out of the closet"(Secretly hardcore Atheist, gay, Trump supporter, genuinely think Rights to hell retribution was good, etc) and see their reactions for a week. You wouldn't have any problems if you think "what they know about you" can impact anything at all.

But you DO know. That's why we don't do those things.

 

[tippy2k2]

My Facebook posts consist of my movie reviews [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.938757-tippy2k2-tells-you-what-to-think-Captain-America-Civil-War], constant stupid jokes, the occasional "big life" event (I got a new job for example), and my golf game. If I'm feeling especially chippy, I'll make a quip about how student loans are going to be the death of this country as we seem hellbent on crippling our youth before they even get out of the damn starting gate.

I am very private about my actual life on social media. If I know you in real life and you're interested, I will sing like a canary about my life and let you in but on social media, I share very little of it. I just don't understand these people who will just cut open a vein on social media but to each their own I suppose.

 

[RaikuFA]

I think people should, if only to give their point of view on a topic.

Take me for example, I was bullied growing up. If it was just name calling I'd probably be over it by now, but it wasn't. I have scars on my body from all the beatings I got. I got suspended for breing involved despite being the one with cuts and bruises because the school has a no tolerance policy on fighting, despite the fact that it was obvious it was one sided. I even had teachers encouraging it. Nowadays I suffer from PTSD and am fucked up mentally.

So when the debate of "should schools have a zero tolerance policy on fighting" comes up I can say no, because I'm living proof that it doesn't work.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

I overshare on certain anonymous places, but I'm very private on Facebook and other places where everything is tied to my real identity and everything I do is going to be recorded there until the heat death of the universe

On other places where only close personal friends are, I love oversharing, and love it when other people do. You just had oatmeal for breakfast so you posted a picture of it? You go, girl, get those grains!

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I tend to have bipolar tendencies a little too often, will switch between complete privacy and complete openness on the whims of the mood, then instantly regret and hate myself when it changes again. But privacy is important, especially when there is so much money to be made from your info. You couldn't spare a humble old homeless man a personal fact or two, could you? Just a single medical detail will be enough to feed my imaginary (hopefully) kids for the day.

 

[happyninja42]

I don't mind sharing most things about myself. I don't share everything, but if the subject comes up, and I think the person I'm talking to won't be uncomfortable to hear intimate details about me, and those details are relevant to the topic, sure I'll share them. What does it matter?

What I DON'T go in for, is the opinion of a lot of people these days, that they are owed my detailed information. Like with celebrities, or other people who have a public persona, even something fairly minor. THe idea of "You asked for people probing into your every detail when you became a public figure" mentality I think is utter bullshit. If a person wants to have a private life, they can have one. I don't get to demand it from them if they don't want to share it.

But personally, sure, pretty much anything is on the table if it seems fitting to share it. And I guess to give a generational reference for that. I'm a 40 year old white male.

 

[happyninja42]

Do you prefer to keep your life private or do you prefer to let it all out for whatever reason. We all have friends, or ourselves, that take pictures and record videos of everything we do from sleeping, eating, talking, peeing, shitting, wan... not gonna say that one. Nothing is wrong with sharing as my mother would say but does oversharing on ones life cause problems in later life?

Should we still hold on to that sense of privacy because when everything else false, that might be all we have left to escape with?

Your thoughts, your views, your ideas, your money... I mean dedication.

Yes. Sure, it would be nice to live in the world where people do not judge you by the past or hold any prejudice against you for what little bits of info about you they've scrapped somewhere.

We don't live in that world. Preconceptions, prejudice, and first impressions DO matter - it changes how people thinks! Enough to easily ruin your life. Go ahead, I dare you to go to your friends and family and falsely "come out of the closet"(Secretly hardcore Atheist, gay, Trump supporter, genuinely think Rights to hell retribution was good, etc) and see their reactions for a week. You wouldn't have any problems if you think "what they know about you" can impact anything at all.

But you DO know. That's why we don't do those things.

People come out all the damn time, what in the hell are you talking about? I "came out" to my family and inlaws about being an atheist years ago. And nothing happened. You act like any declaration of difference from anyone is met with scorn and exile. And while that does happen, it's also true that many people don't care, and accept you as you are. So your statement of "that's why we don't do those things", meaning "coming out", seems utterly insane. Because people come out all the fucking time, and they still exist.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Christ, Para, you type threads like you're getting paid for both word count and bewildering structure. Do you work for Cracked?

I was gonna' say BuzzFeed or maybe Wired, but Cracked works.

OP: Privacy. Absolutely privacy. I hate social media, I hate the idea of people looking at pictures of me, I hate people tracking my movements or knowing what I'm doing. Its just so fucking creepy.

If someone wants to share a story or experience, they are welcome to call me and tell me about it. Don't ask me to check your SuchNSuch Account or read your WhateverBlog. Either tell me while I'm here, or piss off.


And the fact social media sells your personal information to ad companies is just icing on the creepy cake. And I've read they let companies looking to hire you pay to get inside your 'private' accounts and check things out. And those pictures of you molesting a statue of a goat, or chugging a tequila bottle, or passed out with a clown nose on your dick are NEVER going away. Your great great great great grandkids will be looking through the family archives thinking 'Man, great great great great Granddad was a jackass!'

AND to make matters even worse, that story about the time you and your buds went to dollar stag night and got to single karaoke with Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog's own Ned Dennehy and then you went to IHOP at 3am for pancakes wasn't that good of a story to begin with, much less told really poorly though tagged photos and emojis.

 

[Evil Moo]

I share when people ask. As most people quite rightly have absolutely no interest in me at all, I share very little of my life, particularly with people that actually know me in the real world. My Facebook account has no information on it except my birthday, which I'm pretty sure is impossible to remove, so it remains there but hidden to all but myself. I've deleted every status, comment and like I've ever done there, and there wasn't that many of them anyway.

I am prone to sharing more when I am not directly identifiable (though I am painfully aware of how easy it would be to find my identity if someone really wanted to).

I'm not too bothered about the privacy aspect for most things, though it is still a concern. Mostly I just don't think anyone cares about what's happening in my life, so I don't waste my time.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

I prefer to keep the details of my life very, very private. I rarely share anything of any real importance about myself. Like, there's only one person I've ever fully opened up to about myself, and now we're very happily dating. Pretty much everyone else gets the standard avoiding the question answers.

It does surprise me a bit how little some people care about their own privacy. But so long as they're not shoving their life story down my throat every time something happens, and they're not trying to pry into my life, I don't give too much of a damn. The latter annoys me more than the former.

 

[shrekfan246]

I share when people ask. As most people quite rightly have absolutely no interest in me at all, I share very little of my life, particularly with people that actually know me in the real world. My Facebook account has no information on it except my birthday, which I'm pretty sure is impossible to remove, so it remains there but hidden to all but myself. I've deleted every status, comment and like I've ever done there, and there wasn't that many of them anyway.

I am prone to sharing more when I am not directly identifiable (though I am painfully aware of how easy it would be to find my identity if someone really wanted to).

I'm not too bothered about the privacy aspect for most things, though it is still a concern. Mostly I just don't think anyone cares about what's happening in my life, so I don't waste my time.

Yeah, like, privacy is cool and all, but I'm not really all that secretive if people actually bother to ask. There's not much interesting to tell, so if you're asking I usually assume you're actually curious.

I've mostly just got a lot of really strong opinions about certain things; my personal life is really pretty boring.

 

[Something Amyss]

Christ, Para, you type threads like you're getting paid for both word count and bewildering structure. Do you work for Cracked?

Lacks a "6 X you didn't know Y."

OT: Privacy is a relative illusion. Still, I'd rather not go all-out on disclosure, either. I like to keep a little mystery. I mean, you may know my name, age, social security and kinks, but you don't know which way I put my toilet paper on the dispenser.

Unless you read my blog.

EDIT: that said, there's a lot I won't talk about unlesas directly asked.

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

People come out all the damn time, what in the hell are you talking about? I "came out" to my family and inlaws about being an atheist years ago. And nothing happened. You act like any declaration of difference from anyone is met with scorn and exile. And while that does happen, it's also true that many people don't care, and accept you as you are. So your statement of "that's why we don't do those things", meaning "coming out", seems utterly insane. Because people come out all the fucking time, and they still exist.

I don't have to prove anything at all except one thing. That "declaration of difference from at least one person in the entire universe is met with scorn and exile". Why, did I say that everyone will go against you the moment you come out? No, and its not true most of the time. Meditate upon what you have just said... "nothing happened".

Is it really nothing when (at least) one person in the universe may feel disdain from meeting you?
Especially considering that you probably were better off with others if you didn't come out?
Something to think about, when the best case scenario you can come up is "nothing changed", heh.

Moreover, It DEFINES you to the people who you have never met.(as I have stated before, it changed how people thinks.)
Convicted felon, or dropout, Titles with pre-conceptions. You really think that all the people you may meet look past that first impressions?

P.S: I guess I do have to concede to the point "Because people come out all the fucking time, and they still exist." I do forget that many people do not make best choices in life.

 

[Remus]

I have no desire to burden others with my numerous problems. I grew up at the advent of the computer age and from the beginning, personal privacy was a chief concern. I have a twitter and facebook but they are only dummy accounts so I can use other forums outside of the Escapist without having to generate a new account for the really specific ones. I share nothing, not my real name, not my e-mail, nothing that can connect my online persona to my flesh being. I have no desire to hurt future job prospects due to what my life may have been like 10 or even 20 years ago. If I'm stopped by the police for any reason, I have no record for them to build upon. I have no credit history because all my shit is paid for. If I truly wanted to disappear, nobody would ever find me.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Keep it fucking private, and frankly, I consider most people who obsessively share everything about their lives idiots. It's so transparently short-sighted, narcissistic attention craving. All I've ever given Facebook is my birth date and country I'm living in. Fuck, the data mining systems these days (thanks NSA!) are so sophisticated anyway that that's basically all they need.

Oh and writing posts overly convoluted and forcedly weird isn't quirky or endearing. It's pretentious and annoying. Just make your point.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The fact that my life is so boring that nobody would want to know about it dovetails nicely into the fact that I don't want anyone to know anything about me.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I generally keep it all private but I do trust my closest friends with one or two secrets.