Share, share alike: How social media has replaced the traditional diary

Social media allow us to reveal to the world thoughts once reserved for diaries, says Vicki Notaro

TODAY, I woke up in an awful mood, the result of a bad sleep, niggling work stress and an estate agent’s sign flapping around the road all night (the boom is back). A bad mood’s not new. But what is new is the urge to share my foul humour with the world, or at least with my Twitter feed, to publicly complain, to reach out to the world and be assured I’m not the only one with a bad case of the morning grouches.

In the past, I would have kept such a thing to myself, afraid to let others see inside my head. But, these days, telling everyone your innermost feelings, fears, and desires is de rigeur, all thanks to social media. Many of us are so connected that nary a thought passes our mind without the urge to share it.