Wednesday, May 18, 2011

privacy, shmivacy

have you noticed how the internet has made people feel so very comfortable with one another that people share things they should never be putting online? this phenomenon is growing every day. people have no boundaries or sense of privacy anymore. it's like people forget that once something is on the internet it's there forever. even if you delete it, it's in cache.

Exhibit A: there is a blog i read of another big family. it's just your typical mom blog. she talks about managing a large family and all the ins and outs that come with it. well about year ago, her husband cheated on her. since then, she has blogged very openly about the details of her marriage. we're talking about everything from their sex life to an open letter to the woman he cheated with. i understand needing to process. but there are lots of kids that will someday be able read very intimate details that no child should know about their parents. this isn't a therapist couch. it's the internet. and anything you put on there is available to millions.

Exhibit B: i have encountered multiple blogs with really personal info about their children. information that i don't think any child would agree to have shared online, if given the choice. when your toddler is 25 are they going to appreciate you telling the world about his diarrhea or his habit of playing with himself? or what about nearly naked pics? would you want such pictures of yourself out there? then maybe consider the same for your child. did you know that one of my children has some pretty significant delays? no, because i feel like that's personal. i feel like down the road that child will not have wanted that to be public knowledge. i share it with people in my real life who i feel can benefit by the encouragement of my story. but i don't talk about it here. does that make sense?

Exhibit C: the mom who doesn't like her kids. i like to share my struggles in parenting. it's part of what i do here. i certainly am honest on the days where they are driving me crazy. but i hope the underlying current is how much i love them. have you ever read a blog or someone's facebook statuses that just really sounds like they just don't like their kids or their husband? i guess it's similar to the one above. someday they may read it. i try to remember that with everything i write. if my kids are really bored someday and sit down to read all of this dribble i hope they'll walk away laughing at our adventures and assured that i treasured every moment with them. even the hard ones. even when they jumped out of the windows.

well, i don't have time to come up with some witty conclusion. i have to make dinner and my kid is pooping and i think theMr is calling so we can have an argument about our sex life. till next time....

2 comments:

Mile High Mom said...

1) This is so true. Although I'm guilty of frequently over sharing myself.

2) I'm intrigued by exhibit A. In addition to be a chronic over sharer, I also get great enjoyment from reading other people's juice secrets. Care to share?

themrs said...

you're cracking me up michelle! there's a difference between what some might think is oversharing (your home waxing experience,lol) about themselves and doing about someone defenseless. like telling really personal details about your husband. or things that would be hurtful to your kids when they are grown. i don't think you do that AT ALL. i think it's ok to share whatever you want about yourself, if other people are uncomfortable they can not read. it's more doing about people that have no control over it (kids) or things that could be hurtful to your spouse. does that make sense?

p.s. i'll email you the blog i was talking about :)