Categories: general-nonsense
Tags: General Nonsense
Date: 10 October 2009 15:57:43
Interesting article about the level of discretion we do/ should use on line by Hannah Betts in the Times. She makes the point that through social networking sites and the like for many people now nothing is discreet. We hear about births, deaths, engagements, health problems and so forth on line now. TMI now means nothing to us. So is this a problem? Answer I think so, sometimes. We have to use some common sense about what we post on line and realise we don't know who is reading. However, we also need to make value judgements about why we post and the usefulness to the reader. Regular readers will know that I have both pretty much outed myself on line and discussed my depression in my blog. With both of these issues I have made value judgements, thinking about if what I post might be of use to others. Facebook is different though....status updates don't give detail or explanation. They give information which informs others. The question becomes what do we need others to know that much and who needs to know what? The key is to think about the readership of what we post. I know lots of my dispersed network of friends who don't necessarily read the blog sometimes catch status updates and sometimes I want to share things with them, particularly if I have prayer requests or happy news. Therefore perhaps I do sometimes fall into the TMI trap. We all have common sense and have to decide to use it, that's the bottom line at the end of the day.