Public vs Private

Lately I've been thinking.

And that always gets me into trouble.

Or lands me in my therapist's office.

But I can't stop thinking about blogs, Facebook, and all these other Web 2.0 apps that constantly make it easier and easier (or more and more tempting, I should say) to make private things public. Really, where is the line to be drawn? I say many personal things on this blog, but I hold back what I feel I need to.

Does that make me less honest to my readers?

(I think I'm pretty darn honest...)

And how do I know what I should hold back?

(When I hear an inner voice say, "No..."?)

I'm really cautious about my online life. I mean, think about how "public" the internet is. I could walk outside right now, completely naked, and maybe a few neighbors would see me. Well, definitely the smokers across the street who practically live on their porch. But if I posted naked pictures on the internet BILLIONS of people would see them.

That really freaks me out.

I think it's only fair to myself and my loved ones to be selective about what I post and very thoughtful about how I represent myself in my posts.

Seriously, I've gotten in enough trouble (especially with my father-in-law! LOL!) for being misquoted by Scene magazine who didn't put the word "c-u-next-tuesday" in quotes to show I didn't say it but some girl in a Fafa league I was in did.

I couldn't imagine what would happen if I voiced some things that are really personal and maybe not-so appropriate, in terms of family, work, friends, or society.

And why do we feel this need to make our lives so public now through the internet? Is it for community building? Or is it to show off, to feel like we're special and should be heard? Maybe a little bit of both or something else? What you fellow bloggers and Facebookers think?

I'm still thinking.

My brain kinda hurts.