Examine Your Motivations
Sharing personal details online can become a habit that is hard to break. Before cutting back, it helps to understand what motivates your oversharing.
Some common reasons people overshare online include:
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Seeking validation or attention. Posts that get a lot of likes or comments can give a dopamine rush. This reinforces the behavior.
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Loneliness or boredom. Oversharing can be a way to connect with others. But it’s not a substitute for real relationships.
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Lack of awareness. Some people don’t realize how much they’re revealing or how widely it’s being seen.
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Impulsiveness. Sharing without thinking through the consequences is a common issue, especially for teens and young adults.
Really examine your motivations and be honest with yourself. This will help you identify healthier ways to meet your social needs going forward.
Start Small
Drastic changes are hard to maintain. Take an incremental approach to sharing less online.
Here are some small steps to get started:
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Before posting something, pause and ask yourself if you’d be comfortable with all your friends, family, coworkers, etc., seeing it.
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Turn off notifications so you’re not as tempted to impulsively react to each like and comment.
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Limit sharing to positive news only. Refrain from vaguebooking negative stuff just to get attention or vent.
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Each week, set a goal to post one less time on each platform. Gradually scale back.
Making a series of minor changes over time creates lasting improvement without feeling overwhelming.
Refine Your Privacy Settings
Take time to customize the privacy settings on each social platform you use. Make your profiles as private as possible.
On Facebook for example:
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Switch from Public to Friends for all posts.
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For old Public posts, go back and limit visibility to Friends only via the audience selector.
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Adjust who can see your friends list, tagged photos, birthdate, etc.
Similar granular controls are available on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular platforms. Look for options to limit your posts to connections only, approve tags before they’re posted, disable location tracking, and more.
Find Healthier Connections
One reason people overshare online is to connect with others. But social media interactions are often superficial and one-sided.
Nourish your social needs in healthier ways:
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Spend time with people face-to-face – invite a friend to meet up for coffee or attend a local Meetup group.
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Join an online community focused on real conversation – a hobby forum, professional network or Mastermind group.
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Volunteer for a cause you care about. Meet new people while contributing to the greater good.
Prioritize developing reciprocal relationships both online and offline. These provide the meaningful social bonds we all need.
Practice Mindfulness
Many of our tech habits happen unconsciously. Mindfulness can help you pause and make more intentional choices about sharing.
Some tips:
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When you feel the urge to share something, take three deep breaths first. This inserts a mindful pause.
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Ask yourself if a post aligns with your values or long-term goals before hitting send.
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Notice when you feel an impulse to check for notifications. Pause before reacting.
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Delete apps from your phone that enable impulsive sharing, even temporarily.
Developing mindfulness around technology use can help curb oversharing driven by habit or impulse.
Remember, Progress Over Perfection
Changing any habitual behavior takes time and commitment. You’ll likely slip up sometimes as you learn to share less online. That’s okay! Refocus and keep moving forward.
With ongoing self-awareness and practice, you can find healthier boundaries and moderation around social media use. Remember to be patient with yourself in the process.
