8 Reasons Behind Oversharing

This is not the first time I have been asked about so-called oversharing on my social media profiles. What drives me to share such a significant portion of my life? Isn't it a bit excessive? What do I receive from it? Do I not have a life outside of social media?

I fully understand this attitude, reinforced by the ubiquitous message about the sanctity of privacy and the superiority of abstinence from social media over the attitude I represent with my tons of photos, videos, links, reposts. There is only one thing I do not understand: judging someone's online activity in relation to your own attitude, automatically considered better, more moral, normal. The problem that many of my friends encounter is being judged as shallow, empty, and stupid women who are looking for cheap applause. It's important to acknowledge that we are all ordinary private individuals, not influencers, and people are still eager to judge and criticize us.

I want to share with anyone who is interested 8 reasons why I am so active on social media.

1. Vanity

The most obvious reason for me to start is vanity. It's true that I am vain. All of us are. Who can honestly say that they dislike feeling beautiful and attractive? Not all of us are good at handling compliments or attention, and not everyone likes it. However, everyone wants confirmation of our external attractiveness.

2. Acceptance

It's important to remember that vanity often hides a genuine need to accept one's own appearance, which many of us struggle with. I have been struggling for as long as I can remember. What am I seeing when I look in the mirror? A corpulent and ill-defined figure. Sagging breasts. Stretch marks and cellulite. Pimples, gray hair, a crooked nose, and no lips. I see all this on a good day. Posting photos of my clothes, body, and face when I think I look good that day has genuinely helped me accept myself. To realize that maybe I wasn't quite the monster I thought I was for over 30 years.

3. (Im)Perfect

Let's move on to the next aspect: imperfections. Conventionality is the norm, but what qualifies as perfection? Maybe, except for Elisabeth Taylor's perfect nose, we probably won't all agree on one absolute model. At the same time, each of us recognizes these perceived flaws in ourselves. Although everyone has them, we still feel ashamed and try to hide them from the world. By working on myself, including posting photos when I feel attractive, I have come to terms with my imperfections. More or less. Additionally, accepting them has enabled me to share them, which has been very helpful to many of my friends or followers. The information about how some of you managed to overcome your fears related to externality thanks to my attitude is incredibly valuable to me.

4. Zel-Wersum

I create my own little universe on social media. It is my part of the internet, where I not only share with others, but also write down for myself what inspires me, moves me, or sometimes just pisses me off. This is what I refer to as my visual diary. I can always go back there, check information, reminisce, recall events, and places. I have the ability to share my opinions and potentially inspire someone. This is my way of altering the small part of the world I share with others.

5. ADHD

Stimuli. I have a tremendous need for them. When I feel overstimulated, I avoid anything that could cause me to tire out even more. Balancing between two extremes, I am constantly looking for inspiration and information. Taking photos, listening to podcasts, reading books and magazines, sickly browsing Pinterest, looking for brands, people, and places that move me. These are the activities I carry out continuously. There are a great deal of them. They fulfill my need for constant stimulation and the problem of limited ability to concentrate on one activity. Understanding why chaos accompanies me throughout my life was helped by being diagnosed with ADHD. I like it. Chaos is a part of me. Social media allows me to share it without the risk that comes with it in both work and personal life.

6. Loneliness

The majority of my time and life is spent alone. Even my ex-partner had a job that took me away, which meant I didn't have the experience of living with him non-stop, all year long. I have to fill that time with some kind of activity because, as mentioned earlier, my ADHD requires me to do so. When I don't have anything to occupy my mind with, depressing thoughts come to mind. When my hands have nothing to do, eating disorders start to occur. Constantly taking pictures, sharing, and commenting is my form of self-therapy.

7. Aesthetics

It is the greatest source of inspiration and stimulation for me. Visual aspects have been the most important aspect to me since childhood. I like to surround myself with beautiful objects and spend time in beautiful places. Greyness, ugliness, and mediocrity make it difficult for me to cope. I fall into apathy and depression, and I do not want to leave the house. That's why I enjoy taking pictures so much. A photo is a small tribute to what is beautiful, interesting, or intriguing. A small flower on the roadside, large halls in the shipyard, light shining through the leaves, and reflections of the sun on the surface of the sea. Beautiful like many things around us, you just have to want to see it. I am gifted with the ability to see it everywhere and always. It's a gift that I value very much. Nonetheless, I am aware that not everyone shares it with me. That is why I can share my observations by bombarding my followers with so many photos. I want to share everything, because I want everyone to know how much beauty there is in the world.

8. Communication

The last reason for my (over)activity on social media is related to the previous one. The visual sphere also serves as a means of communication for me. My friends know that I will often send a photo instead of writing a message. It also conveys a message. Furthermore, by sharing photos online, I can communicate with my family and friends in different parts of the world more easily. I don’t have to answer the terribly boring question “how are you” for the millionth time, because everyone already knows more or less. I don't have to send photos to everyone individually; everything is available to those who want it. Verbal communication, even in writing, is a challenge for me. I didn't even reply to the question about oversharing in a direct message for two days, but I decided to write this text on my own. Direct interactions are difficult, tiring, and stressful for me. I use photos to communicate. These are my messages.

These 8 points give a comprehensive explanation of oversharing, which I mostly use on Instagram. Nevertheless, don't be fooled. Having a lot of photos, including those of my body, doesn't mean that I share everything.

There is still a lot left private. There are a lot of things I won't share. There are many thoughts and emotions within me that no one is aware of.

Next time you meet someone who functions on social media in a different way than you, don't judge them. After all, even if it is an activity focused solely on gaining likes, being accepted, fueling one's ego and satisfying vanity - what's wrong with that? If it makes someone happy, makes them feel better about themselves, and doesn't hurt anyone, let them do their thing. And you? You don't have to watch it. Simple as that.

Well then, @werozel recommends itself!

For those, who do not judge.

xoxo

wero