TMI

TMI, or too much information, is a phrase we often hear but how do we know ahead of time that what we say to others will be too much?


Workshop on Monday March 2, 2009

What to Tell: Deciding When, How and What to Self-disclose
Self-disclosure is a cloudy area. Knowing who to confide in can be tricky. And, knowing how to disclose information or when the best time to do it can be added pressure. This workshop will serve to ease some of that pressure and provide you with a few ideas and general questions to ask yourself when you are unsure about how much to disclose about yourself in a number of situations.

Over the course of the workshop we will discuss the following topics:
 * What self disclosure is
 * How it effects relationships
 * Appropriate self disclosure
 * When and how to disclose personal information
 * The information you give out and how it can be misconstrued
 * The negative effects of self disclosure

Also, as the age of technology advances further and the Internet becomes a larger part of our lives it has also altered the amount of information we are willing to share. We will attempt to answer these questions both on a personal level and as a general twenty-somethings.


 * Were you hesitant to put that first picture of yourself up on the web?
 * What information do you put in your profile?
 * Do you blog?
 * Are you ever worried about who might read your blog/profile?
 * Do you know people who you are up to date with their life mostly through what they post about themselves online, as opposed to hearing it from the source?

Also, with all the personal information about us on the Internet does that affect personal relationships?
 * With online dating do you know too much too soon?
 * Is information you once shared with only your closest friends now public information?

We will also delve into how reality TV has altered the boundaries of self disclosure and how the person from your high school could now be on MTV.


 * There are a number of real life examples of public self-disclosure and here are two that I would like you to examine prior to the workshop.**

First is an article on [|Barbara Walters]' memoir. This was first advertised as an insight into Walters' career as an influential journalist why would she choose to share this in her book? Do you think this effects her reputation? I challenge you to find an article about her memoir that does not mention the affair. Are their other instances you can think of where celebrities have shared too much?

Then there is the instance of Kendra Wilkinson, a former 'Girl's Next Door.' After having so much of her life filmed for the past 4 years has she lost the ability to censor information about her personal life? The [|first article] is her interview with //US Weekly// and [|the second] is her apology.