Why are people so eager to publicly share everything about themselves on Facebook?

Narcissism.
Thinking your life is SO important that every little thing merits extreme applause and hits a 10.5 on the richter scale of egoic self importance.
I was on FB for about a year and deleted my account.
I could give a fuck about a blow by blow account of your kitchen remodel. lol

Pffft…..who cares? Oooh….imported marble counter tops..I am sooo impressed. Gah!

I have privacy controls screwed down pretty tight on my page, and so do most of my friends. And I find that there isn’t much more data mining going on than there is using a club card at Safeway or Lucky’s or CVS.

But I have reconnected with a number of people, and I have been part of a community of people that have supported people going through major illnesses. It was moving as a friend gathered people together on line as he was awaiting a liver transplant, and the grief was shared when he never recovered from the transplant surgery. And another friend has used it for support the last two years as she recovers from a Stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis and mastectomy and lymph removal.

I think many of us that have supported her are grateful that there is a way to support her that wasn’t around ten years ago.

Mostly ego.

If you knew my real name (which is NOT El Bandito Roso), and you looked at my Facebook page, you would see a bare minimum about me. I very seldom update it, and when I do, it is usually with things that are pretty innocuous and wouldn’t tell you much about me.

Unless you’re my friend, in which case you already know about me.

But then, I am not 20 years old. I think that us over-50 types have a different view of privacy than the young-uns.

You raise a good point, which will surely show up on your Facebook Wall.

It’s amazing how many celebrities and even ordinary John Q. Public types have been hacked because all their secret questions can be answered with a few quick searches and what they share makes it easy for a hacker to guess what they would use for a password.

It’s a brave new world out there, and we all have to adapt to its realities or suffer the consequences for refusing to do so.

There’s nothing wrong. It’s like them talking to a “real life” person. There’s not really much to talk about in this world besides our daily events. Really think about it. You might find out you’re just a hater. And I say this having explored this question myself. I used to judge what others posted. Then I thought, “who the fuck am I?” Then I realized, all life is, whatever. All life is an expression. Social media is fairly new. The etiquette is still growing and evolving, there’s no “teacher” or “constitution” that tells us how to be on the internet. All we can do is observe at this point.

I don’t understand it myself. I choose very carefully what I post online.

This is my least favorite type of Facebook friend, closely followed by people that constantly post about their religion and political views.

My youngest sister-in-law is 18 and just had a baby. She has a combined Facebook with her boyfriend (don’t even get me started on that!) and they post about how much they love each other, how happy they are, etc. Who are you trying to convince? They even have Facebook conversations in which it looks like they are talking to themselves, with the same FB page commenting over and over. I’ll never understand why couples who live together talk via Facebook. How about turning to him on the couch next to you and open your damn mouth?!

My oldest brother-in-law has a horrible on-again-off-again “relationship” with a girl he has two kids with. They hate each other’s guts and, each time they break up (weekly), she goes straight to Facebook to tell the world what a piece of shit he is. Two days later, they’re back together. Why do people want to air their dirty laundry on the Internet?

What’s almost worse than this is when people post the most mundane daily activities like, “Just woke up. Getting ready for work.” My reaction: WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK?!

As for the reason…ego, need for attention, stupidity…take your pick.

@elbanditoroso your not El Bandito Roso? Well that explains why I couldn’t find you. As @elbanditoroso suggests, younger people perhaps lack the awareness of the dangers of sharing too much information too freely online. My concern for them is that the information, the drunken pictures, the admissions of drug use or whatever, will be there and available to people who care to search for it, from now on. In years to come will we have Facebook posts made by our political leaders dragged out to demonstrate how unworthy they are (or were at 21) to run the country?

@flip86 there are oversharers in any area of life. Facebook just offers a broader channel.

I really use FB to keep in touch with Jellies who aren’t here anymore or those who don’t interact here as much as they once did. There’s really not much on my personal FB page to identify me at all.

I have one I use for work and that have my name on it but the content bares little resemblance to me in terms of my interests, political leanings etc.

I don’t post anything I would be ashamed of admitting to. And I do use privacy controls.

Of course it’s ego. Ego is the reason you asked this question and why people answer.

It’s because I’m hilarious and sexy.
I think it’s really just an easy way to keep up with what is going on in the lives of the people you care about, and it’s an easy way to interact with each other.

Ironic, isn’t it? People are screaming that their privacy is being taken away when they themselves are giving it away with every keystroke.

“Ego is the reason you asked this question and why people answer”

Love!

You can find out here!

ya’ll just wish you’d done gone and thought of it first . . .

Many people forget that the internet is not their living room. They think that the stuff they share will only be seen by those who they wish to see it and will be invisible to those whom they don’t wish to share with, but unless you are a master at FB’s privacy settings, that isn’t how it works.

Because they think people care about everything they do.

I ate a late supper, I’m on my period, and I just peed.

A lot of us are guilty of that.

<hangs head in shame>

I’m drinking Coke and watching Yes, Dear right now.

@WillWorkForChocolate Oh yeah? Well my period is 2 months late. Ha!

Stupidity and need of attention.

I would much rather live life without Facebook.

@raven860 I’ve lived without it quite nicely for almost 2 years. lol

They share with only those they have “friended”. Hopefully they are careful with the people they choose. I don’t understand the out of the blue friend requests coming from people I never have seen before. Not happening.

I think it’s both, in equal measure. Ego to think that people are genuinely interested, and stupidity to post it where any hacker or scammer can harvest it.

Never understood it myself. When you type my name into google you get zero results which is exactly the way I like it. I don’t want joe schmoo to be able to type in my name and find out who I am where I live etc etc. I realize a great deal of data is still probably mined on me but I’m going to make it a bit more difficult than HEY HERE I AM COME ONE COME ALL. People put their name address phone number etc up there without a seeming care in the world and it blows my mind.

What also blows my mind with people and facebook is how many pictures people will willingly post of themselves drunk or doing some illicit drug for the world to see. Like really… can you really be that fucking stupid to not see how this can come back to bite you in the ass?

Speaking of pictures and facebook, the fact that if I were to upload a picture to facebook it now becomes their property to use however they wish is just insane….and yet no one seems to mind at all.

I have not and will not ever have a facebook, twitter, or any of that other “social media” bullshit. Fluther is the closet I’ve ever gotten to it.

OMG – People out there know that I love walking and hot fudge sundaes. Oh – I am so scared!

Ironically I’ve never seen an entity of any type that compares to facebook concerning people who claim that they hate it, but yet where so many of the same people continue to use it (especially concerning people who I know). I’m not a member of any social networking site, and likely never will be, but from reading other’s facebook messages (with consent of course) it seems that people who talk about their mates cheating on them, threatening suicide, etc are people who are hurting and looking for attention to see if anybody cares. I’m not sure if I’d call the latter group of people egomaniacs, but yes there are many egomaniacs on facebook regardless.

Facebook only knows what you tell it. I have not entered in my birth date or hometown or other personal information. I don’t allow people to “tag” me without my consent. I don’t allow my “Family” members to be listed – and FB has randomly said that I added so-and-so as a Family member and sent notifications to them (this happened recently with my son’s ex-gf shortly after they broke up… she sent me a text very confused about why I did that).

I think the population is generally ignorant about “privacy” on the internet.

I think lots of people are in their own way lonely, and Facebook represents someone saying, “hi dear, tell me about your day.” Also, I think it is way to feel that someone is listening and validating. Sure there are showoffs, but many seem sort or lonely and looking for approval. I don’t judge, but I do worry about the young ones who post too much. They have not the full realization, I suspect, that their photos, musings and the like will follow them in multiple forms forever.

Because they are self centered and self absorbed?

@janbb: Yes, but do you like walking with hot fudge sundaes? Now that… that would be scandalous.

I too am baffled by it. That is why, like @Coloma, I lasted about a year on FB and killed my account.

You got me there, friend.

As for me, I don’t really think that my sudden knee pain or what I had for dinner is worth mentioning, so I don’t bother.

Also I am pretty aware of how just about anything you post can be traced back to you in the years to come, so I try to behave.

I do use privacy settings and my FB base is small, I do not mind sharing these things with these particular people.

People who mostly use Facebook are young people(like me). They like to you know, get involved and seem cool. You just kind of need to understand them, okay?

Actually people of all ages use Facebook.
If you haven’t encountered any freaks yet, consider yourself lucky.

@Katniss “Actually”, majority of the people who use Facebook are teens.

They just want to share their friends something interesting or tough or something else happened to them.
It’s a way kind of emotion alternating

Because their parents didn’t grow up with Facebook. It will take a while till Privacy Protection 101 gets taught in every elementary school.

@kimchi So your saying we should be cool with young people exposing themselves(and their parents for that matter) in various ways on the internet for the world to see?

@uberbatman Apparently that is exactly what were supposed to do. lol We just need to understand them, ok?

Seriously, @kimchi I’m not trying to be an asshole, Facebook is entertaining at times, but the things that you post do have a way of coming back to bite you in the ass. You should use some discretion before you say something that the whole world can see.

My 18 year old ditched his account because he doesn’t have time for the drama and bullshit.

@janbb

Now someone knows what time you go for walks so that he can sneak in and poison your fudge! Well played.

I think it is their own continued 15 minutes of fame experienced on a daily basis. I can like you and value you without knowing what flavor coffee you consumed today! :)