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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Shayla Love

When we can share everything online, what counts as oversharing?

illustration of teenage girl influencer filming at laptop behind ring light
What’s considered ‘excessive’ is open to interpretation. Influencers, for example, share a lot because they’re getting paid to do so. Photograph: Amr Bo Shanab/Getty Images/fStop

I recently made a new friend, and we became Instagram mutuals right away. From her posts, I’m getting a sense of what she does on the weekends and what she likes to cook. It’s helping me to get to know her even though we don’t see each other very often.

As I learned about her hobbies and how many brothers she has, I also noticed how much the act of sharing personal details has evolved. The photos or thoughts I casually put online without a second thought might once have been considered too much to broadcast. Who needs to know what I’m buying at the farmer’s market or how long I waited for the subway? But none of my friends or followers bat an eye, and they share similarly – if not more – about their activities too.

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