A recent celebrity story has been getting a lot of media attention for more reasons than one, and it bears an important debate. Chrissy Teigan shared a post last Wednesday (pictured below) announcing that she and John Legend, her husband of 7 years, suffered a miscariage. Teigan was due to give birth to her third child with Legend later this year, but their dreams for a healthy baby boy were crushed. Her post included 5 heartbreaking photos of the couple in the hospital just moments after stillbirth, and a detailed caption expressing their extreme grief. Teigan wrote, “We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before”. While the post has racked up over 11 million likes in the past week, with many comments containing heartfelt messages and condolences for their loss. There was an equal amount of media users criticizing the couple for sharing something so raw and personal. A few users said that posting her emotional experience was only for attention and sympathy. This is just one example of an ongoing discussion on oversharing in the world of social media. But what constitutes oversharing? Who does it and why? Is it such a bad thing? These are questions that will be explored.
When asking different media users what kinds of posts they would see as “oversharing” online, you will get a variety of answers. For example, a Gen X parent posts a photo of their teen at the doctor’s office getting a checkup and captions it “Spending the day at the doctors with my son/daughter!”… their child would say this is something that did not need to be shared. Parents of Gen Z’s and others their age often post common daily tasks online that teens see as unnecessary and irrelevant. You could probably log onto Facebook at any time of day and see a 40-year-old woman posting about her glass of wine at the end of a long workday or gluten-free cookies she made for her kids. On the other hand, Gen Z’s and younger Millennials’ uses for social media look very different from the older generations as shown in the table below. This generation is made up of extremely socially and politically aware young adults, who have evolved into change-makers and activists. Posts vary from real experiences with types of abuse, pushing political views, raising awareness for racial injustice, promoting mental health, and sharing personal wellness in general. These show a side of vulnerability and trust that young people possess that many adults lack. It is the motive behind the post that makes the difference and is the true basis for deciding whether the thought can be considered oversharing or not.
Being honest with the purpose of sharing your post is very revealing. Most often, older Millennials and Gen X’s posts are created for validation. Very often when someone posts how happy their marriage is or how satisfied they are with their life… it is not the whole story. This is a way to put on a mask so your peers and colleagues will envy your life behind their phone or laptop screen. It is undeniable that 2020 has brought this country into difficult times, especially for young adults who are still in the process of discovering where they belong. It is through raw and honest posts that help guide Gen Z through confusing thoughts and events going on around them. A post sharing detailed personal experiences with mental illness may seem like a call for pity or attention, but it is quite the opposite. One single post like this can be the difference between life and death for another, because reading someone else’s outlook on a similar experience can maybe just change yours. This is precisely what Chrissy Teigan’s post does; it shows other couples struggling with pregnancy that they are not alone… and that it is okay to mourn. So yes, oversharing can reflect a negative light on social media. But, when done with true intention and transparency… it can do a lot of good for generations to come.
