Where is the line between sharing and bragging?

[Hmmmmm]

My interpretation of people's Facebook posts is based on my opinion of them in real life.  If my RL experience is that they are prone to bragging then that's how I see their vacation photo posts. 

[QueenofAllThings]

There was an article about this a few weeks back - Wall Street Journal or NY Times, I think - that basically said that FBook (and Twitter and FourSquare and ...) really were about bragging. I don't remember too much about the article, but the gist was that postings were all forms of social manipulation and bragging, particularly because people rarely post the mundane, negative or embarrassing. Posts are usually along the lines of "Great workout today - I feel awesome!", "10 pounds down!", "Loving this sunset at the shore ", "Looks like Cornell for Johnny!" - and are usually about the self.

That was the writer's viewpoint, at any rate. He or she said it much better than I am paraphrasing, but it was interesting reading.

[Hmmmmm]

There was an article about this a few weeks back - Wall Street Journal or NY Times, I think - that basically said that FBook (and Twitter and FourSquare and ...) really were about bragging. I don't remember too much about the article, but the gist was that postings were all forms of social manipulation and bragging, particularly because people rarely post the mundane, negative or embarrassing. Posts are usually along the lines of "Great workout today - I feel awesome!", "10 pounds down!", "Loving this sunset at the shore ", "Looks like Cornell for Johnny!" - and are usually about the self.

That was the writer's viewpoint, at any rate. He or she said it much better than I am paraphrasing, but it was interesting reading.

I agree with this point of view which is one of the reasons I seldom post on facebook.  I do have a few friends who share interesting information that has nothing to do with themselves.

[Kitty Hawk]

I agree with this point of view which is one of the reasons I seldom post on facebook.  I do have a few friends who share interesting information that has nothing to do with themselves.

Which just shows how everyone uses Facebook for different purposes.  I like to hear what my friends and contacts are doing -- in other words, the personal stuff.

And of course, everything you post has "to do with yourself".  If you are posting a story on the environment or politics or pretty pictures of puppies, all of those things are a reflection of yourself in some way.

[Take2]

I feel that the easiest way to avoid bragging is pretending my FB friends are in the room...would I show them/tell them what I am about to post? My FB friends are mostly RL friends and neighbors and relatives. Sure, a few second cousins and high school buddies I haven't seen in 20 years have requested to friend me, and I have accepted, but if they don't want to be updated with the random details of my life, they should hide or unfriend me!

So I post 3-5 pictures from any adult vacation, but not 100.  And maybe 1-2 anecdotes. Maybe 10 pictures of a family vacation. One picture/comment if we do something cool locally like a restaurant/concert. More pictures and a short synopsis of an event like a birthday party. I post any cool thing I make, like my kids' birthday cakes and my daughter's dress for back to school. I post pictures and quotes of my kids (I sometimes wonder if I put too many of these, but then I get relatives and friends commenting that they love reading the quotes and seeing the pictures, so I keep it up at their request). If I ever posted something that gets no likes and no comments, I would  look at that content and don't post something like it again...but I don't remember that ever happening.