To wonder why we share so much online?

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This isn't a dig at anyone on here or referring to any posts. & obviously this doesn't include everyone using social media.

I've been wondering a while about why we as humans feel the need to share so much online. Mainly Facebook and Instagram. A friend even once said to me something along the lines of..

'What's the point in taking a photo if I'm not going to share it on Facebook?'

I'm guilty of this. Sometimes I write a status update and delete it after thinking 'who really cares?'

I'll hold my hands up and say that I'm addicted to social media like a lot of people.

But I'm sitting here with my coffee thinking.. Why do we do it? I remember the days before computers let alone social media. No one gave a toss what I had for breakfast

We still don't give a toss what you had for breakfast. We're only liking it to keep the friendship.

Attention, acceptance, feeling of belonging maybe? And FOMO because everyone else is doing it?

I only post on here no FB/Twitter etc but to me it looks a bit addictive to keep sharing everything?

@explodingkitten - It was an example. I couldn't give a toss what anyone has for breakfast. But yes, I get that. But friendship status depending on who likes what is a bit shit!

No one cares now. No one is reading your selfie/update/post with an interest and most people read social media to inwardly judge others, make themselves feel better, or sate nosiness.

The selfie that is 9 snapshots in the making, preening in a bar, is set up & superficial, and viewers know it.

I often watch diners in restaurants, bars etc doing social media shots - very often on their phones throughout - and wonder if they look back at their own status updates barely able to remember or feel the memory.. because they were never really there, fully engaged, whilst it was happening.

Have you see the episode of Black Mirror that deals with this? It’s called Nosedive.

Very enlightening it is.

I always thing the other stuff in the picture is more interesting than the thing you are supposed to be looking at.

Like teens who never clean their mirrors. Or soft furnishings not to my taste.

I think what Sparkling says is part of it.

The other part is the false sense of privacy that sitting, in the worst case, on the loo in the privacy of your very own bathroom, leads to: just because you're posting something hidden underneath a blanket in your bedroom doesn't mean it's not still as public as shouting it across Parliament Square.

I have an inkling people know that but don't quite get it, IYSWIM.

YY Sparkling - I like to have a nose at the rest of the room / other stuff discarded in a corner

I am actually interested in what you had for breakfast. I am so nosey.

However my feed isn't really filled with real people anymore just adverts and memes. Some funny some not.

It's addictive because it's a form of entertain which satisfies all four elements of the Uses and Gratification Model:

1. Surveillance- ability to view others.
2. Relationships- feel connected to other humans, even if we have to manufacture it.
3. Self-Identity- convinces us we are learning about ourselves/self-improvement under the eye of an audience.
4. Escapism- because it's largely false, right?

Social media is still in such a state of infancy. I'm sure it will be very interesting to observe its effects over the next couple of decades.

Black Mirror, anyone?!

The only social media I've done was Facebook but came off about 4 years ago. I'd got to the point where the feeling of life being a competition was bothering me and people's over sharing was affecting my perception of friends a bit.

I really missed it for a while, that need to see what everyone is up to really becomes addictive but now I feel so much better.

What I have noticed though is there are certain friends who feel their constant updates online are an acceptable substitution for actually connecting. They don't bother with phone calls or even a text message as much so unless I do all the social arrangements we rarely get together.

DD is 10 and will probably have a phone in the next 6-12 months so depending on her SM access I can see me needing to come out of my cave in the future and hopping back on so I can keep an eye on her virtual world

And yes that Black Mirror episode is very good (love Bryce Dallas Howard too!),

I care what other people post, because I'm interested in the lives of the people I care about. If someone has cooked a nice meal and they're proud of it, great! Show me! Same with cute kid/animal photos, achievements, nice scenery or even your new cup that you bought because you liked it. Awesome.

I know people say that everyone is showing off etc etc but I don't really see it as that. Most people I know post jokes, self deprecating things, righteous anger against the world, quirky news. I guess when I post it's because I am bored and a bit lonely, and it's less socially acceptable to ring someone for a chat or pop round for a brew than when I was young and I don't have the freedom just to go down to the pub when I want some company.

I’ve given it up. Feels better. Prefer to be private. I think it can cause a lot of stress. Insecure people were getting pissy about what I liked or didn’t like of theirs and interpreting comments negatively. Just crazy. Too much comparison and competitiveness. Prefer now to not know things. If someone wants to know how I am they can text me.

I share barely anything online. Occasionally I tick a like on someone's Facebook page.

t was an example. I couldn't give a toss what anyone has for breakfast. But yes, I get that. But friendship status depending on who likes what is a bit shit!

I realise that . It's just that part of a friendship is listening to what is important for the other person. If it would all be fake it would be really shit, but if it's just once in a while that a small gesture makes someone feel good then that's fine. And sometimes I get surprised listening to someones interests that when you get to know more it actually starts to get interesting.