Am I sharing too much online?

AM I SHARING TOO MUCH ONLINE?

I’m a little tied when it comes to the answer to this one as it stands but I’m sure everything will become a little clearer as I write it all down.  

I was 16, going on 17, when I published my first blog post, I’m now just a few weeks away from turning 21 and a lot of the emotions I’ve felt during the last 4 years have been noted and published here, my own personal choice of course and one I don’t regret but the question of whether I’ve shared too much or not is one that’s been on my mind lately.

I love blogging. A small hobby has turned into a passion, something I couldn’t imagine not investing my time in now. 

I enjoy sharing my experiences of living with a disability. Some posts have been difficult to write but noting those feelings and experiences down has been and is therapeutic for me. Writing has helped me to understand some aspects of my disability that I didn’t necessarily give much thought to or want to accept before. 

And of course, I love sharing things on the more light-hearted end of the spectrum; my concert experiences, my journey studying with The Open University and some of my blind girl beauty hacks and mishaps. 

It’s my most personal posts that I worry if I’ve included too much detail in but I’ve realised it’s likely that whether they’re honest words in a blog post, a tweet or an Instagram caption, someone, even if it’s just one person, will be able to relate in some way and that is what motivates me to keep sharing. 

Although those nerves have persisted many a times, I’ve never felt uncomfortable when putting something out there for potentially anyone to read.  

 And that’s the most important thing, isn’t it? Feeling comfortable, confident and proud of the content you publish. If I feel this way when publishing a new, open and honest post, then why not offer readers an insight into my life, my experiences and some of the feelings my disability has lead to over the years. 

There will always be someone who can relate in some way so I think it helps to share. 

There are so many feelings that I’ve kept inside for years and I’ve reached the point of realising how important it is to open up about them. I’m still working on voicing those feelings in person but for the last four years, writing has been my therapy, my escape and I find that writing down exactly how I feel is what has helped me the most, it’s been my key to understanding and making sense of some things.

And so my blog has become my safe space, every post is like a mini therapy session and the feedback I receive on them is a bonus. It’s nice to hear from people who understand where I’m coming from. 

I don’t regret sharing anything I’ve put online. Granted, one or two blog posts have been deleted just because no one needs to read such cringe-worthy content but for the most part, I’m proud of what I’ve shared and I will continue doing what I do as long as I can find the words to express my feelings and as long as I find comfort and enjoyment in what I do.

I find comfort when tapping away at my keyboard, putting my story into words and the little community we’ve built in this small corner of the internet has helped me to feel less alone.

I don’t gloss over anything and maybe that can be considered as being ‘too honest’, ‘to open’ or sharing ‘too much’ but it can also count as comfort, reassurance, something real that I hope people can relate to. 

When I feel something or when I’m reminded of a time when I felt a certain way, I write about it, a document that evolves into a blog post. My blog is more personal than it ever has been before, is there anything wrong with that? No, because that’s the way it’s naturally grown.

Writing is therapy for so many of us and if we feel better for posting our feelings to this online space then why shouldn’t we? 

Blogs are there for us to express our creativity, we’re free to sensor our writing as much as we like and express ourselves in a way that we feel comfortable with. Would sticking to what we feel is ‘safe’ to share only prevent our growth in the long run? 

There’s so much to think about! 

But if we’re happy and comfortable with the content we’re putting out there then we shouldn’t have to question whether it’s the right thing to do or not. 

Some worries

I guess another reason why I’m asking myself this question is the worry of being repetitive, ‘samey’ or predictable. 

Sometimes I feel like I’ve shared so much that now, nothing is new or interesting to read. Like when you watch a TV show and you feel like you’ve seen the same storyline somewhere else before, so why continue watching? 

That’s how I feel about some blog posts, will people still want to read or will it seem repetitive?

I guess that’s for you to tell me. 

And then there’s the worry of who reads and how will my honesty impact their judgement.

I’d like to think that my blog shows my creativity, perhaps acting as proof of how I can work on my own initiative, key skills for jobs I’d love to do in the future but if a prospective employer were to have a look at my blog, could my honest approach go against me?

Will the detail I’ve shared about my struggle with confidence put potential employers off? Will the fact I’ve spoken about my anxiety stop people from inviting me to places/events? 

I’d like to think that honesty wouldn’t lead to the answers to these being ‘yes’ and they’re questions I’m probably overthinking at the moment. 

I’ve talked so much about some of my struggles on here, my posts about sight loss and isolation, anxiety and confidence being just a few of my most personal. Three aspects of my life that I’ve chosen to hide and keep on the down-low offline because I often don’t know what words to speak to make those feelings justice.

Everything flows much more naturally when it comes to writing.

My most personal posts have undoubtedly been the most rewarding to write, but sometimes putting those feelings online is daunting, essentially making me worry that I’m exposing all of my weaknesses. 

But at the end of the day, we all have our struggles and we all face challenges. I, along with thousands of others, just so happen to share a few of mine publicly.

I’m proud of the platform I’ve created, proud of how honest I’ve been on topics that I couldn’t speak even one word about a few years ago and I’m incredibly happy that my honesty and openness on topics such as anxiety, bullying, confidence and loneliness has been able to help or bring comfort to others in some way. 

I write for my own benefit but also, hopefully, for the benefit of others. Hopefully helping some to realise that they’re not alone.

So my conclusion is this.

I’ve naturally written a lot of information about myself on my blog, there’s 4 years worth of writing here to be read. I’ve shared a lot but too much might not be valid because there are aspects of my life that will always stay offline and hidden.

I might have shared most of the details about my sight loss journey with you, I’ve exposed a lot of my vulnerabilities, in a way I feel comfortable in writing about of course, but there’s still some deeper aspects that haven’t made it on here, yet. 

There are moments in my life that I haven’t shared and never will because that for me is ‘too much’. 

Do I still enjoy sharing my story? Absolutely and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. But I’m thinking a little more about what I’m putting out there, being slightly more cautious about it. If I’m not 100% about posting something to the internet, it’s best for it to stay offline. 

We are the ones who have control over what aspects of our lives we share online and we’re the ones who have control over how that information is presented to others. 

So, have we as bloggers, youtubers or young people shared a little too much online? Probably in some cases but that’s what made this new and innovative side of the internet so intriguing in the first place. 

We all like having a nosey at what others are up to and blogs, youtube and social media gives us that window view into other people’s lives. And maybe this encourages us to share more of our own lives too.

Maybe the element of authenticity and uniqueness has slipped a little with growth in the number of content creators in this saturated space of blogs and youtube videos but I’d still like to think that there’s an element of mystery left in there somewhere. After all, we’re all entitled to a private/personal life and the online world shouldn’t make us feel like we don’t. 

There are so many messages and moments encapsulated in our online space these days, whether we think it’s too much information is up to us to decide I guess. So, I’d love to know what your thoughts are on this, where do you think we should draw the line when it comes to publishing content online? Are there any topics that are off-limits for you? Maybe this is a conversation we need to have more of. 

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this. 

Elin x