The Age of Oversharing: Unveiling Society's Compulsive Need to Document and Share
I grazed my hand across the sequin pillow in my therapist's office. With my legs stretched out across the couch, I was essentially in heaven, like I had always been in her office. In this session, I was clutching my stomach in laughter as she described graphically the erotic introduction to Netflix’s Sex Education.
At that moment, all I should have been doing was enjoy myself— but all I could think about was how we should have had a podcast. It seemed perfect: Is my Therapist my Best Friend? Adult Therapy Unfiltered. But then, my second thought was that I shouldn’t be living for other people. Or rather, my thoughts shouldn’t revolve around showing others all aspects of my life. This is a realization I come to often, as I catch myself obsessing over recording every minute of my life for my Snapchat private story. I don’t even know why I do it; I have twelve people on my private story and none of them watch it too closely anyways, so why does this matter so much to me?
In an era defined by unprecedented technology, especially social media, I feel as though we have all witnessed a shift in human behavior. There is an inexplicable desire to document and share every facet of our lives on the internet, and I’ve slowly seen this become a defining feature of my life and many others. At this point, as a chronically online society, we need to ask some questions about the sociological underpinnings and psychological motivations behind this compulsive need.
To explore the deeper reasons why we tend to overshare on social media, I’d like to approach the issue through some basic sociology, specifically the lens of Erving Goffman's theory of impression management. Goffman posited that individuals strive to present an impressive and likeable image of themselves to others. This is extremely evident when I see so many of my peers curating their self-presentation based on external audience's expectations. In this digital age, social media platforms have become stages upon which we dance for an ever-present virtual audience. This performance, captured in vlogs and podcasts, is ever so carefully constructed to elicit attention and approval, transforming the internet into a theater where the boundary between the personal and the public is blurred.
Vlogs or video logs are something I want to mention especially. I feel as though they truly epitomize the extent to which we've succumbed to this need for documentation and sharing. People now record and broadcast their daily lives, from mundane activities to significant life events, as a means of connecting with their audience. Even though people have been documenting precious moments in life on camcorders and whatnot, people now invite viewers into their world, a type of extreme sharing that has never happened before. They go live at every second of an important event, film “Get Ready With Me” videos describing their preparation for the day from details about their makeup product to their shoes, and spill out multi-generational family secrets in “story times.” I mean, who the hell films a Get Ready With Me before their mother’s funeral? Actually, multiple people on TikTok. I mean, I guess it's a nice, raw look into someone’s life. However, this pursuit of authenticity is paradoxical, as it often involves meticulous scripting and edited content, which really begs the question of supposed authenticity.
For example, when you meet me, you’ll most likely know within thirty minutes of speaking to me that I live in Manhattan. Online, you’ll know it in just three clicks. I love to show off my little NYU life, a twenty year-old Texan taking on the big city. It’s never too artificially manufactured, but it's hardly unabashedly authentic. I’ll spill my little secret: for the twenty people that loyally like my TikToks, I only really make them on interesting days when I’m in interesting places and doing interesting things.
Society's inexplicable desire to document and share every aspect of life on the internet is a reflection of the evolving dynamics of human interaction. Grounded in sociological theories of impression management, and exacerbated by the rise of vlogs and gamified social media platforms, this phenomenon of oversharing offers insight into the changing politics of self-presentation and privacy. While digital connectivity can be enriching and fulfilling, it is vital to not only maintain a balance between sharing and safeguarding our personal lives, but also recognizing the impact of oversharing on our well-being and privacy in the digital age.
