第1588期:Do you share too much online?

It’s good to share, right? Growing up as kids we are told to share our toys and not be selfish. We also live in an age where discussing our feelings is encouraged. But when does it all become too much? With new crazes trending all the time, such as dance challenges and wearing a pillow as a dress, the question is: when can sharing become oversharing on social media?

很好分享，对吧？我们从小就被告知要分享我们的玩具，不要自私。我们也生活在一个鼓励讨论我们的感受的时代。但是什么时候一切都变得太多了？随着新的热潮一直在流行，比如挑战舞蹈和把枕头当裙子，问题是：什么时候分享会成为社交媒体上的过度分享？

What is oversharing? The term has become associated with social media, but it isn’t exclusive to this platform. Imagine you head to a party and you meet someone. Within five minutes they have divulged intimate details about their life. While some of us may try to escape these people, according to marriage therapist Carolyn Cole, this form of oversharing could come from a strong desire to connect with someone. But how does this translate to social media?

什么是过度分享？该术语已与社交媒体相关联，但并非该平台独有。想象一下你去参加一个聚会，你遇到了一个人。在五分钟内，他们泄露了他们生活的私密细节。根据婚姻治疗师卡罗琳科尔的说法，虽然我们中的一些人可能会试图逃避这些人，但这种过度分享的形式可能来自与某人联系的强烈愿望。但这如何转化为社交媒体？

Dr Christopher Hand, a lecturer in cyberpsychology, says the more details people disclose, the less sympathy we express when things go wrong. This could be due to a belief that we attract our own negative experiences the more we share them. It seems that sadfishing, the idea of searching for sympathy by oversharing, is generally perceived as negative rather than the cry for help it could actually be.

网络心理学讲师克里斯托弗·汉德博士说，人们披露的细节越多，我们在出现问题时表达的同情就越少。这可能是因为我们认为我们分享的负面经历越多，就会吸引我们自己的负面经历。似乎通过过度分享来寻求同情的想法通常被认为是消极的，而不是实际上可能是寻求帮助的呼声。

However, Dr Hand’s research also seems to suggest that the more we post on a platform, the more socially attractive we become – provided that the posts that we bang out are positive. Even back in 2015, Gwendolyn Seidman PhD, said that we should avoiding whining and being negative online. We should also steer clear of showing off, bragging or flexing, as it’s now known – especially about our love lives. It makes sense – if your date is going ‘that well’, would you really have time to share a photo with text?

然而，汉德博士的研究似乎也表明，我们在平台上发布的内容越多，我们就越具有社会吸引力——前提是我们发布的帖子是积极的。早在 2015 年，Gwendolyn Seidman 博士就说过，我们应该避免在网上发牢骚和消极。我们还应该避免炫耀、吹牛或炫耀，正如现在所知——尤其是关于我们的爱情生活。这是有道理的——如果你的约会“那么顺利”，你真的有时间分享一张带文字的照片吗？

So, how can you know if you are oversharing? Well, why not ask your friends in real life. They would probably be more than happy to tell you if your posts about your breakfast or your gripes about your lack of money really are too much.

那么，你怎么知道你是否过度分享？好吧，为什么不问问现实生活中的朋友。如果您关于早餐的帖子或您对缺钱的抱怨真的太多，他们可能会非常乐意告诉您。

词汇表

share 分享
craze 风行一时的东西，时尚
trend （一段时间内在社交媒体或网站上）被多次提及，流传
oversharing 过度分享
social media 社交媒体
platform 平台
divulge 泄露
intimate details 隐私
connect 与…建立良好关系
cyberpsychology 网络心理学
disclose 公开，透露
sympathy 同情心
sadfishing 博同情，“卖惨”
cry for help 大声求援，求助的表示
post （动词）发布（信息）
posts （名词）网站上公布的信息，帖子
bang out 匆匆发出
whining 抱怨，发牢骚
showing off 炫耀
bragging 吹嘘
flexing 显摆，炫耀
in real life 现实生活中