Do We Use Social Media to Communicate Too Much?

In full disclosure, I use social media a lot and am even logged on to Twitter and Facebook as I write this.


I'll admit it, I'm a social media junkie. I have multiple conversations going on both the big sites right now and have been having multiple conversations with a lot of friends all semester. Heck, I even use twitter to communicate daily with people that are in the same building as me.

But something I often wonder about is if we use these platforms to communicate things that should be done in private. For instance, in the past year I've found out about at least two family things that should have been told to everyone in private (having someone post a status about a family member in the hospital before telling you is not fun). And I'll admit, I've done things like this too. When my dog died last week, I texted two of my best friends about it and after the shock and such had worn off, posted it on Facebook. Granted, most of the people that it directly affected other than me (my mom and stepdad) were also there with me. But others had to find out through Facebook because I posted it there (and that post led to a lot of uncomfortable calls in the days after the event). So obviously, I'm not blameless in this either.

But I have to wonder when we as a society crossed over to the "It happened in my life so let's post it on social media" craze. We've already pretty much lost any communication skills we have in life just by the advent of technology (why talk face-to-face when you can text?) but has it got to the point where any personal event should be broadcast over the internet before those directly involved are informed?

Some people still know when to hold things in when it comes to their private life and I give them massive kudos for not falling into the tech trap. But for those of us that don't, maybe we should hold off posting stuff that needs to get around to certain people until it gets to them. Heck, even the news doesn't post names of victims until their families are informed. Sure, readers want news as soon as it happens and even 40 minutes after an event seems late, but when it comes to our personal lives and not stuff that will affect the whole country or world, 40 minutes could save us a lot of headaches down the road when we have to face the music from those that had to find out with everyone else when they should have been the first ones on the phone.