Social media refers to the means of interaction among people in which they create, share and or exchange information, ideas, social events which could be personal or impersonal.  

Social media is about conversation, community, connecting with an audience and building relationship, some relationships built on social media actually thrive and make it out of the social media sphere.

The main social media platforms where relationships and interactions can be fostered are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube and Vimeo.

Social media not only allows you to hear or read what people say about you but it also enables you to respond. listen first, speak second. It is also a very great tool for engagement and two -way communication because there is real-time communication.

The potential exists to get carried away by all this communication and develop an ‘oversharing syndrome’ or be superficial and feel the need to show off or as they say ‘stunt for the gram, pepper them’

We all have that one person in our circle of friends, place of work, neighborhood,school or even family that feels it is their sole mission in life to give minute-by-minute details of their life . on social media , you will be required to be compelling, useful, relevant and engaging so much that, sometimes, authenticity, honesty and open dialogue play second fiddle.

Lately, it seems as though a thin line exists between what is considered public and private information. Minding our virtual relationships and crafting our online personas and reputation is a whole new skill that people should learn as they have a real impact on their lives and the lives of their followers. But where do we draw the line, and how does what we post or share on social media affect how we are perceived out there?

Research has shown that heightened emotions drive people into oversharing information, this conclusion was drawn by Jonah Berger, an assistant professor in marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, in 2011.

Examples of oversharing include: posting your complete date of birth, educational data or medical data, sharing your car plate number, sharing your family battles which may include marital issues, announcing your vacations or absence away from your home as well as the duration, posting money and financial records or bank statements. The examples seem like obvious things not to share on social media but sadly these and more have been shared with reckless abandon.

Oversharing has diverse consequences, it can ruin a reputation that you have worked hard to build for several years, in a twinkle of an eye. All it takes is one negative tweet, one post on Instagram and just like that, your reputation is down the drain.

Twitter is not just Twitter anymore, you are what you tweet!

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Oversharing can also ruin personal relationships, cause you to lose your job or a potential job, as most employers use social media to investigate candidates for job positions. Twitter is not just Twitter anymore, you are what you tweet!

Oversharing can lead to break-ins, kidnappings and in extreme scenarios assassination. It is a well-known fact that burglars and kidnappers stalk their victims via social media to ascertain when their victims are away from home, if kids are left alone and other vital information that might be the missing piece to their puzzle.

You can also lead government agencies, the police force and other bodies that investigate illegalities straight to your doorstep by oversharing .You might want to be careful with the sort of information that you share on social media, especially, now that these government agencies have handles and participate actively on social media.

If you have ill-gotten wealth, evade tax payment, use drugs, participate in hate speech or partake in any sexual activity that is not consensual and a number of other vices then, the clock is tick-tocking because social media is bringing criminals closer to their Waterloo than they would have anticipated.

Now is the time to sit back and ask yourself how much information is too much information ? kindly share with us .