The more we post on Facebook, the more our decisions, lifestyles and beliefs become under scrutiny. How many of us can take this scrutiny or even want to? Some people seem to like the attention. In fact, some people even seek bold responses by posting over-the-top commentary and remarks intended to spark controversy. On the other hand, many of us do not like to be judged. We may not be prepared to hear the truth about ourselves. But on some level this mentality seems awfully hypocritical. If we willingly put our opinions out there, why would we expect our friends to remain mute with theirs? Isn’t the whole point of social media to publically interact with each other? Doesn’t social media interaction entail us being exposed to different ways of thinking?
Now, more than ever, it seems that losing our privacy is not as important as what we believe we gain from self-disclosure: closer alliances with like-minded individuals. Psychologically, many of us feel a strong need to connect with people who agree with our thinking. There’s comfort in knowing that friends are entertained by status updates, that they appreciate our views on society and politics and that they “like” and endorse our way of thinking. When we feel understood we feel appreciated, validated, even adored, but this adoration will very likely come with an emotional cost.
