How much of yourself do you post on social media?

The social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give us the opportunity to get close to people who are hundreds of miles away, with whom we can share information at any time. However, people often get offended when they see the pictures of friends and acquaintances flooding their timeline. This has made them to reason […]

The social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give us the opportunity to get close to people who are hundreds of miles away, with whom we can share information at any time. However, people often get offended when they see the pictures of friends and acquaintances flooding their timeline. This has made them to reason that: ‘Is it necessary to post a lot of pictures on themselves online?’ How do you feel when you see personal pictures and posts of friends and acquaintances on your timeline? Following is what a cross section people think of this issue.
Jamila Sanni, a pharmacist said one can tell the story of people’s lives through their posts and pictures on social media. “Some of the people who indulge in this do it for the sake of wanting people to celebrate in their joy or mourn with them. Others do it for fun, without any special reason attached,” she said.
Jamila added that some people just want to “show off” or make it seem as if everything is going on well in their lives, especially their relationships, work, etc. “Personally, I don’t see any reason why I should share some information  on social media. In terms of showing off, I saw a picture of a lady who posted a picture of herself in a car which made it seem like she wqs driving. Obviously, that picture was taken to show off. Recently, there have been stories of people who hack into other people’s accounts, steal their profile pictures and do all sorts of incredulous things,” she remarked. She advised that people should be security conscious and whatever is private should be kept away from public eyes.
Awoyomi Adelakun, who is a teacher, said: “I am appalled most times when I see things like ‘in a relationship with Mr. A,’ ‘I am so moving on’ and ‘It was fun while it lasted.’ These messages make me laugh, why should the whole world know what is happening in your life or your relationship?”
He related the story of a friend who posts everything about her life. “When you get on her page, you can tell when she got into school, her graduation, the day she got engaged, got married and even pregnant as well as gave birth. The list of events in her life goes on and on; I am not criticising those doing this, because some of them do it just to express themselves; how happy they are and also to show that the person matters a lot but I don’t see the need to,” he stated.
An undergraduate, Bose Oluwatobi, however says there is no big deal in putting as many pictures as one can on social media or in whatever messages that person wants to write. “It is my page and besides what I post may not necessarily be a window to what I am passing through in my life or someone else’s. When it comes to taking pictures, I am a freak because it is a way of reflecting myself and the mirror doesn’t do enough for me until I take a picture,” Bose said. “Most of the pictures I take and post on social media don’t mean I want to ‘show off’ that I have clothes or that I am stylish. It is simply my thing and I enjoy doing it.”