Welcome to my blog.
Let's just get the business out of the way. I am by no means claiming I am a Facebook expert, or the final say in Facebook etiquette. I realize that it is a social networking site and people are free to express themselves in whatever fashion they choose.
This being said...
I have seen some ridiculous, disgusting and offensive nonsense posted on Facebook since I began using the site in 2006. While it is an excellent way of staying in touch with your friends, it is also an excellent way to offend other people and hurt your online public image.
So, let's get started with our first deadly sin: The "too much information" (TMI) User.
I know we all have at least a few of these 'friends' on our list. They are the ones that abuse Facebook as a place to share the intimate and utterly private details of their private life with the online world.
I'm talking about those gory details that should never be broadcasted. Case in point, (names have been changed) take Amanda.
Amanda is a seemingly normal young woman. Turns out she made a few bad decisions, and ended up unexpectedly pregnant. I know this because she posted on her status that "she just got back from getting an abortion."
Not only is this distasteful, I am positive no one wanted to read this in their news feed, next to so-and-so who just scored a cow in Farmville.
This is waaaaayyy too much information! In the era of social networking, the lines between what is acceptable casual conversation and what is private have become blurred. Not only was that uncomfortable for me to read that as her status, it made me sick to my stomach that a decision like that could be so casually brushed off as a simple part of her day, next to having breakfast or going to work. The fact that she would have no qualms about advertising this to all her friends makes me seriously question her state of mind.
On a lighter note, I also have a friend named Suzanne. Suzanne's beloved dog died. My condolences.
But for a few weeks after this, Suzanne's statuses were, " OMG BUGSY, YOU WERE THE BEST DOG ALIVE! YOU WERE SOOOOO HANDSOME AND SWEET. IF YOU WEREN'T A DOG I WOULD TOTALLY DO YOU!!!"
At what point are erotic emotions towards your dead dog acceptable?
The point I'm getting at here is, keep private details private. Reserve them for close family and friends in the real world. They are likely the only ones who really care anyways.
What do you think? Are there limitations to what you should share online? Does it even matter? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
