Today, with most of us owning a smartphone that lets us post on social media wherever and whenever we want, oversharing has become harder to avoid. But the tricky thing is that people usually don’t realize when they’ re oversharing. The problem can only be triggered by our friends and family. A survey showed that every two in three people in the US think their friends share too much on social media.
Oversharing can have negative impacts. For instance, it can put your personal information at risk. When you update your status, or simply recall an experience on social networking sites like WeChat, chances are that you are revealing critical personal information.
According to a survey by Visa Canada, 45% of people aged 18-34 “overshare” their financial information online. “Young people shared payment card information via e-mail, loaned out their cards, and didn’t keep their PIN confidential,” reported CBS. This behavior mirrors similar habits of sharing personal information on social media sites. They’re really not totally aware of who has access to this information and who else can be seeing this information and what could be done with it.
“Oversharing contributes to a larger culture in which such behavior is considered acceptable or even desirable,” said Seidman, associate professor at Albright College in the US. Elizabeth Bernstein, a US-based educator, said that “the great increase of overshare is partially because of the wild use of social media as a subconscious attempt to control anxiety. We actually use a lot of mental energy trying to manage the other person’s impression of us by oversharing.”
Moreover, oversharing online can damage effective communication in real life. “Having such easy access to so many people makes communication superficial,” said Chen, a psychologist at South China Normal University. “In the end, the lack of deep communication hurts strong social bonds, particularly friendships.”
4. Why is oversharing hard to avoid?
A.Most people have the habit of oversharing on social media. |
B.Close friends and family members are eager to know our updates. |
C.Social media welcome oversharing to make profits. |
D.Most people are unaware of the problem of oversharing. |
5. What does the author think of oversharing?
A.Acceptable. | B.Desirable. | C.Disturbing. | D.Dangerous. |
6. How did the author support his/her argument?
A.By sharing his/her personal experience. | B.By analyzing advantages and disadvantages. |
C.By giving experts’ opinions and research findings. | D.By presenting some classic cases in history. |
7. What message does the author seem to convey in the text?
A.Trying to avoid oversharing on social media. | B.Sharing personal information on social media. |
C.Updating your status constantly on social media. | D.Communicating deeply on social media. |