There’s no denying Facebook can be a great tool. It allows us to connect with friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances in near real time. We can create profiles and let people know what’s going on in our lives. However, some people tend to share a little too much about their lives. Here’s 10 things you should stop sharing on Facebook.
1. Pregnancy and Child Birth Announcements
I can’t believe I even have to include this. But, there are certain details about your pregnancy and childbirth process that I do NOT need to know about. For instance, I had a high school friend, who decided to update frequently how far along she was in the childbirth process for everyone to see on Facebook. Your family might want to know, but for all your friends who you went to high school with, we really don’t need to know how many centimeters dilated you are. K, thanks.
2. Small Baby Milestones
We get it. You’re so excited Little Timmy learned how to roll over, how he just cut his first tooth or how he just called you momma for the first time. This is big news for your family, but not so much for 500 of your closest Facebook friends. The fact that you posting these “milestone” photos every day gets borderline annoying. If you must share every little milestone, create a private Facebook group and share with the people who really want to know.
3. Potty Training Photos and Tips
Every toddler learns how to use the toilet eventually. We understand its a frustrating and time-consuming process for parents. You might find it adorable and be incredibly relieved that little Timmy went pee-pee on the toilet for the first time, but the majority of your friends on Facebook don’t really care. It gets worse when you decide to share your potty training tips and horror stories in great detail. Again, if you want to exchange stories, create a private Facebook group.
4. Medical Side Effects/Conditions
Facebook is not WebMD. Please stop sharing your and your kids’ medical side effects. It can be uncomfortable and potentially nauseauting to see in our newsfeeds. Not to mention, trying to get a diagnosis on Facebook can be potentially dangerous. Save it for WebMD or you know your doctor’s office.
5. Foursquare Check-ins
Besides being completely unnecessary to cross-post on every social media site, they can also be dangerous. Most of us don’t care that you went to the Olive Garden and Walmart today. But, it’s just an open invitation for creepy stalkers.
6. Lovey Dovey Notes
We get it.You’re madly involved with your significant other. We’re so happy for you. However, when you post lengthy updates about how your boyfriend is the best boyfriend every single week, it gets a little annoying. Send private Facebook messages or texts to your boyfriend and BFF instead.
7. Passive Aggressive Comments
These are my personal favorites. The ones where people post a generic rant about something or someone but they don’t disclose who it is. It’s super petty and childish behavior. Please stop this.
8. Intimate Relationship Details
All of your Facebook friends do not need to know that you need to get laid, when you last got laid, or any details. K, thanks.
9. How Much You Hate Your Job
This one isn’t just petty and childish, but could have real consequences. Even if you aren’t friends with your boss or coworkers, that doesn’t mean they can’t find your rants. Unless you want to stand in line at your local unemployment office, it’s best to not rant about how much you hate your job, your boss or your annoying coworker.
10. Social Game Announcements
Contrary to what you might think, the rest of the world doesn’t care that you reached another milestone in Farmville or CafeWorld. Please stop auto-sharing these announcements.
What’s the worst example of oversharing you have seen on Facebook? Please share in the comment section below.
My cousin is a horrible offender of #6, but worse because he’s a serial monogamist. He’s constantly posting pictures and updates with “Love you so much babe,” and “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me,” but the girl tagged changes every week, sometimes two weeks if he’s REALLY in love. Sigh.
@bberg1010 That’s hilarious! I have quite a few people in my friends list that do the same. But the worst is when their relationship is not that good as they hoped it would be.
And food! We do not need to see the appetizer, drink, main course, main course half eaten, dessert and last bite of dessert every flipping time one goes out to eat! Everybody eats food, we know it exists and WE GET IT!
@warpnacelle01 Oops, I’m definitely guilty of this one, myself.
There’s a really fine line in social media between sharing interesting information about your life and too much information. The same people who can be kind of annoying in a face-to-face situation may also be obnoxious on Facebook. However, while I understand the point you’re making about oversharing and I can bring to mind several examples in my personal group of friends, I DO want to know things about my friends’ lives, even if they’re going into labor, potty training their kids or whatever.
The suggestion to create a separate group is kind of silly, in that context – can’t you just block or unfriend people whose updates you don’t care about or who overdo it? There are tools on Facebook that allow you to completely hide or hide all but important updates just for situations like you describe. (I haven’t had to see a Farmville update in quite some time!) In that context, this comes across as a bit petty – after all, you agreed to connect with these people who are apparently annoying the hell out of you.
There’s a really fine line in social media between sharing interesting information about your life and too much information. The same people who can be kind of annoying in a face-to-face situation may also be obnoxious on Facebook. However, while I understand the point you’re making about oversharing and I can bring to mind several examples in my personal group of friends, I DO want to know things about my friends’ lives, even if they’re going into labor, potty training their kids or whatever.
The suggestion to create a separate group is kind of silly, in that context – can’t you just block or unfriend people whose updates you don’t care about or who overdo it? There are tools on Facebook that allow you to completely hide or hide all but important updates just for situations like you describe. (I haven’t had to see a Farmville update in quite some time!) In that context, this comes across as a bit petty and self-focused – after all, you agreed to connect with these people who are apparently annoying the hell out of you, and they aren’t forcing you to read if you loathe their updates so much.
@jennifer18 I agree with you.
Hmmm… I’m reading this, and thinking to myself, why in the hell would you add people as friends that “aren’t really friends”?. After all, that’s kind of what facebook has always been about. If you are more into posts of off topic randomness by people you could give a flip less about, try twitter???
That would be the moral of this story.
I would assume most people add people that they are very close to, and know in real life. Those types of updates are very wanted in that case, and if you happened to be one of those people that added me because you were trying to feel special by having a lot of friends on your account, and essentially have no business otherwise of being on my page, well then #$@## you! if I offended you with my life. You really didn’t need to be in it anyways right?
But no, really, let me just go ahead and group you into a separate category alright…. The “Why the hell did this moron add me, when they ain’t sheeeit to me” group. I’ll make a special time out for idiots like you… “not” lol.
It doesn’t matter what people share because if someone doesn’t care to share his/her personal feelings/things then why should I care, I’m not bound to read it at all and there is an unfriend way too, so anyone can make those annoying posts disappeared from his/her wall. You can even leave FaceBook, it’s not a very big deal.
If i wrote this i would to write Please stop share commercial ad,religin ad,lifestyle ad,market news politics ad and news,stupid game posts,and other boring things, Please share
programming. music,
travel, and other fun things.Hey, OP – nobody cares, what you like to see on your newsfeed or not like, you can unwatch anybody at any moment,
more over facebook have a personal settings how much details you want to see from specific “friend”.
Yep, I admit, I’m sometimes guilty of #7. But usually when I do that, I limit the audience to those who are targeted. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up, I promise I’ll be nice from now on!
[…] a PR/marketing coordinator, social media specialist, and videographer. She writes on her personal blog, where a version of this article originally […]
My favorite Google Chrome Add On is called UnBaby.Me. It replaces all baby related Facebook posts with pictures of awesome things. Like cats. Or bacon.
@juliaprior That’s awesome. Need to get that Chrome extension
I’d like to add one more thing to this post: Constantly bragging about how great your life is.
On the flip side: Constant complaining is annoying too.
I’d also like to include the folks who never post a thing. Why do you sign up for Facebook only to set your profile pic as an old running shoe an then never post anything?
People who share too much are annoying, but lets not forget those who just sit in silence.
@DavidBarber That’s a great point. I’ve never understood people, who sign up for every social media site and then let all of them sit idle.
@jessicamalnik @DavidBarber they just store their social graph, making links between friends, etc.
My humble two cents — I used to agree and have the same problems, BUT if your “friend” is annoying you with their constant posts of their baby updates, etc. ..Facebook has this amazing tool where you can unsubricbe or even un-friend.
Some people like to document moments, and if FB allows it – then let them. If they want to post a photo of their appetizer, dessert, drink, etc…why not? If it gets too annoying, just hide their updates and then you won’t have to see it. I’m guilty of either de-friending someone or hiding their feed because they posted way too many heartbreaking stories and I just couldn’t take it anymore…But moral of the story is – Who am I to say what you should or shouldn’t post? I can easily just choose not to look.
[…] it’s about oversharing on social media: literally every clickbaity website ever has to have a “hilarious” article about the stuff they’re sick of seeing you post to social […]