A major red flag is when someone says that they can be read like an open book. I can’t believe it when someone thinks they are easily understood. There’s a difference between being an average person and being someone who spews out any thought that comes to mind.

I can confirm that I am a person that spews out any thought that comes to my mind.

I find myself in countless conversations talking about
my hot takes on breakfast foods or a random Wednesday experience at Home Depot. It is important to give life updates every now and then, however, not everything has to be shared.

There are times when we find ourselves too comfortable in situations. I’ll meet someone, and I’ll tell them about my stomach problems from earlier that day. I can imagine their first impression of me is a chatty girl with irritable bowel syndrome. That’s OK with me, considering I can’t control someone’s perception of myself.

A difficult skill to learn is being confident in sharing thoughts. There are times where we feel discouraged in our ideas and experience self-doubt.

“You might put yourself in physical danger by revealing too much to the wrong person,” wrote psychotherapist Amy Morin for Forbes. “You could alienate people who feel uncomfortable by the amount of personal information you share. And recounting your problems to people who don’t have your best interest in mind may lead them to take advantage of you.”

With oversharing, some people have a characteristic called “the audacity.”

There are situations when people don’t think before they speak. It is crucial to remember that our words impact others. There is a line between honesty and being a good person. If you find yourself thinking that your friend’s sweater is ugly, under no circumstances should you tell them that. You might convince yourself that you’re doing them a favor, but disagreeable words can have a horrible effect. Your friend may take it the wrong way and feel insecure about wearing something new.

It is not necessarily bad for someone to share their thoughts. However, there can be statements that can cross other people’s boundaries. The other person may be uncomfortable with listening to your personal experiences and may not know how to respond. I have been in situations like these with friends, and we need to be mindful that speaking up takes courage. Whether good or not, we are in the most control with what we share on social media. We post anything from our prettiest

pictures to a reflection on a past experience. Committing a hate crime on social media is the only limitation, but everything else is fair game. For example, I tweeted that I considered putting my Volkswagen Jetta in my microwave so the engine can warm up faster. I know it is not logical, but it was my direct thought that I wanted to share with the world.

Struggling to vent to people face-to-face, some people might use social media as their only outlet to share their thoughts. A simple tweet can get their problems off their mind. We’re not really sure who sees our social media posts, but it doesn’t matter. Whether it has 500 views or 15 views, it is beneficial for your sake to get things off your chest.

Sometimes I think about the digital world I share my personal thoughts with. I have a pool of connections with hundreds of people from my close friends to someone I worked on a group project with in my freshman year of college. There are people who I haven’t talked to in years that watch my Snapchat stories daily. It seems that I am so open with myself that I would let just anyone in.

I like to think I have nothing to hide from others. That’s not the truth. I put myself on a platform, and post my own content. I show people what I want them to see. We tend to forget that there is more to someone than who they are on the internet. We can’t assume we know everything about each other. It’s not like I’m going to post my social security number on Twitter. If I reveal my private information, that’s on me. But, I will continue to express my thoughts without hesitation.