What is the first thing you think of when you hear Cyber Monday? Shopping deals? An extension of Black Friday? Something to do with the internet and shopping online, right?

I’m going to take this Cyber Monday as an opportunity to talk about the time we spend online. At this day and age, it will be hard to find someone who does not have any sort of social media. In our society, it has become a norm to share our every day lives online. I’m not an exception either.

However, sometimes, it’s come to a point where “it’s not official unless you post it on Facebook” or “post a picture online or it didn’t happen”. This is where we need to draw the line. Are we sharing too much? Most definitely!

There are endless things you probably shouldn’t share on social media, but here are the top 5 that I am suggesting you consider before posting:

1. Personal Information such as finance, phone number, address, passwords, password hints, and maybe even your “check-in”s
2. Linking Accounts are definitely easy when all you need is your Facebook to sign into different websites like LinkedIn, AirBnB, and more, but it will decrease your security. For example, especially around this time of year when shopping is a craze, it will be much easier for people to steal your information.
3. Personal Conversations are usually shared because it’s cute or funny but it is an invasion of privacy if the people/person in the conversation did not want it to be shared. Besides, the chances of people wanting to see it will be very slim.
4. Embarrassing or Inappropriate photos and statuses maybe fun while it lasts but you shouldn’t post something if you think your family, employer, or future employers might not want to see it
5. Private Issues should remain private. Wanting to share your feelings with a friend to take a load off your chest is different than sharing to hundreds/thousands of people. You never know who will be reading your social media or sharing the information from it. Why talk about something that could bring negativity and other repercussions to your life?

If you have to wonder if you’re oversharing, you probably are!

We should do Cyber Awareness Mondays (like MCM or FBF) and reassess our sharing habits now and then.

Let’s be mindful and become a more conscious generation. 🙂

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