Is it the norm or the exception to share less of your private details with offline acquaintances than anonymously online (relationship, feelings)

[ragnarkar]

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who thinks this way.. I often anonymously share details of my life or the way I think online than I do with people I interact with offline on a regular basis. I think it easier to cut off anonymous online "relationships" that go south than to have to deal with people that you see everyday knowing something private or embarrassing in your life. A lot of times, I get blunt but constructive feedback online (not just on this forum) that I've taken to better myself in the long run.

[silibran]

I am not sure there is a norm. Probably some share personally more and other share online more.

I am careful of my privacy on this forum. But I am careful of my privacy in person too.

I have disclosed a few things here that I simply do not talk about in person. But I talk in person about other things.

For me, I think it is a toss up.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

My instinct is that it's a lot more common with younger people.

[Sonic_Spork]

I'm a pretty open book regardless, but in person there are some folks I can look at and tell just from their appearance that they might be of a less accepting mindset and there are things I could talk about that would make them very uncomfortable, so if we are barely just acquainted, then I don't.

I don't care about people gossiping about me, or anyone's moralistic judgments of me, I only care that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable, with the things I might say.

If I get a sense that a person is open-minded and I can tell them stuff, then there's a good chance I will overshare. There are many things about my life that most would consider to be shockingly private that I have zero shame about and no problem discussing with anyone, online or offline, just as long as I'm not making them uncomfortable with it.

So I might do this somewhat more online, only because I don't have the visual cues of someone expressing discomfort to put the brakes on and shut me up, necessarily.

[michael917]

I can relate to this. I've always tended to be overly concerned about what people think of me, and that can sometimes make it a challenge to share really personal things face-to-face. Meanwhile, if I'm banging out my problem on a keyboard for someone to read when I'm not there, it comes very easily.

It does help to develop a sense of how people react to certain things. If, for example, you have a very sensitive personal matter you're dealing with, and a friend who tends to brush things off or who doesn't tend to show much sympathy, you probably don't want to discuss this matter with him/her. Once you figure this out, it becomes easier to share when you need to.

[greatblueheron]

I think so too...the young have grown up with all the social media outlets...don't seem very protective of their privacy.

Think sexting photos, twitter postings of exactly where and what they are doing any given minute.






[/b]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

My instinct is that it's a lot more common with younger people.

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by silibran

I am not sure there is a norm. Probably some share personally more and other share online more.

I am careful of my privacy on this forum. But I am careful of my privacy in person too.

I have disclosed a few things here that I simply do not talk about in person. But I talk in person about other things.

For me, I think it is a toss up.

I would think it's safer to anonymously declare your political views online than to state them straight up in front of your friends or coworkers or even on Facebook. As long as you're careful not to break the law with what you're posting and to not give away details about who you are in real life, I don't think there's a risk, am I not mistaken?

[Marie Joseph]

I am a pretty private person IRL who isn't all that great at expressing feelings and I don't reveal a lot about myself unless I have know you forever. LOL, okay not forever but for quite a while. I used to be the person who would just reveal everything but that has gotten me burned over the years so I have learned to be careful

I am generally more outspoken online than in person and I don't mean that in the troll-ish sort of way. I don't feel comfortable many times talking about politics, religion...etc with people I know. I personally don't have an issue with it because I am open to other views and it's pretty hard to offend me but so many people seem to avoid topics outside of the usual ones like how the weather is and how the family is doing I enjoy talking about the kinds of topics that make most people uncomfortable and online I've found others who also enjoy doing this.

I can still hold regular conversations and frequently do with people face-to-face.

[GeoffD]

It depends on the topic and the audience.

I have a long list of topics I won't ever discuss in real life with acquaintances. Money, politics, religion, and relationships top the list.

I have a far smaller inner circle of long time close friends where I cover more personal topics but even there, I filter pretty carefully depending on the person.

Online, I'm happy to cover religion and politics topics I'd never dream of discussing in real life.

[Clintone]

I describe all sorts of bizarre and disturbing things about myself online. You people don't care. I'm just some faceless internet person, but it's a nice way to learn about others' opinions, get useful feedback, and have an outlet for some of my more bizarre ideas.