The Real Reasons Why So Many People Overshare on Social Media
People are becoming less and less mindful their posts on the web due to an temporary feeling media has. People are oversharing when posting because they feel drown out by the din on the contemporary media landscape. This is a problem because rather than attracting authentic attention we are only adding to the din of the noise. Before the creation of social media, an “oversharer” was someone who within the first couple minutes of meeting was sharing her recent menstrual cycle, or a loved one who shouts unsolicited updates from the bathroom every time they are on the toilet. Now with the addition of social media these people have this ability to add this inappropriate content, or rather just noise to the world. Yes, we want attention, we want to look cool, but what do we feel? The answer to this question is when, “Last year, researchers at Harvard found that the act of sharing our personal thoughts and feelings activates the brain’s neurochemical reward system in a bigger way than when we merely report the attitudes and opinions of others” (Hiebert). This research is saying that it can be rewarding once we feel others’ attentions, and I know when I post a picture of myself all dolled up, I want others to like it. I pay attention …show more content…
A big problem is social media users have no filter meaning they don’t care who sees it or what others think. According to a study, playfully titled, “Intended Image on Facebook: ‘What Were They Thinking?!’” Facebook users who didn’t mind if strangers could view their profile, were “significantly more likely to post inappropriate content and to portray an image that would be considered sexually appealing, wild, or offensive.” In other words, they want everyone to think they’re cool (Hiebert). Users are constructing an image while they are on social media, whether it be the one they intend to or not, an image or impression takes two seconds to create and a lifetime to
People are becoming less and less mindful their posts on the web due to an temporary feeling media has. People are oversharing when posting because they feel drown out by the din on the contemporary media landscape. This is a problem because rather than attracting authentic attention we are only adding to the din of the noise. Before the creation of social media, an “oversharer” was someone who within the first couple minutes of meeting was sharing her recent menstrual cycle, or a loved one who shouts unsolicited updates from the bathroom every time they are on the toilet. Now with the addition of social media these people have this ability to add this inappropriate content, or rather just noise to the world. Yes, we want attention, we want to look cool, but what do we feel? The answer to this question is when, “Last year, researchers at Harvard found that the act of sharing our personal thoughts and feelings activates the brain’s neurochemical reward system in a bigger way than when we merely report the attitudes and opinions of others” (Hiebert). This research is saying that it can be rewarding once we feel others’ attentions, and I know when I post a picture of myself all dolled up, I want others to like it. I pay attention …show more content…
A big problem is social media users have no filter meaning they don’t care who sees it or what others think. According to a study, playfully titled, “Intended Image on Facebook: ‘What Were They Thinking?!’” Facebook users who didn’t mind if strangers could view their profile, were “significantly more likely to post inappropriate content and to portray an image that would be considered sexually appealing, wild, or offensive.” In other words, they want everyone to think they’re cool (Hiebert). Users are constructing an image while they are on social media, whether it be the one they intend to or not, an image or impression takes two seconds to create and a lifetime to