How much is too much information?

Like most people, I created social media accounts years ago. Ever since, I’ve kept up with the different platforms, from sharing Reels on Instagram to creating memories on Facebook and X [formerly Twitter]. 

Initially, I loved the idea of keeping up-to-date with friends in other countries, sharing funny pictures I came across with family, and posting life updates on my profiles. We’re very social creatures, after all, so it’s a great concept.   

But over time, social media has become a numbers game. That intimate group of followers has extended to work colleagues, former classmates and some “acquaintances”.  I have even seen personal contacts with 4,000 “friends” – amazing, considering there are only 365 days a year. How could you keep up with all of them?

There are some benefits to having an online presence. For example, it can be helpful when plugging a concept and advertising a business. So it is not all bad since social media is a form of communicating to an audience, making your business seem “human”, not just a brand.

I logged onto my Facebook account and read a wall update where one of my former schoolmates announced, through the relationship status, that she had gone from being “engaged” to “single”. This was later changed back to being “engaged”; by this time, people were already commenting and questioning what had happened. So here comes the question: how much is too much information? Is it right to document very personal information about your life?

I am also a fan of X and like how you can write a short tweet on a topic that interests you, even one relating to how you are feeling at the time: “I am so annoyed with the repair company fixing my laptop”.

X is a place where you can find out information, and I have tested this theory. For example, I once tweeted about needing a new web designer, and within a few hours, I had companies approaching me directly. So it can be a good resource for finding new business prospects. It can also act as a motivator and some account holders like posting positive thoughts of the day. 

X has also made celebrities accessible to the general public, and they, too, can get carried away and reveal their innermost thoughts. For example, Duncan Bannatyne, the successful entrepreneur of Dragon Den’s fame, once  shared with his followers about how he felt “suicidal”. This demonstrated to the public how “human” he is. The question is, have people lost sense of the distinction between reality and the cyber-world?