People ‘overshare’ when they interact with others through the screens of computers and smartphones. Oversharing means to divulge more of their inner feelings, opinions and sexuality than they would in person, or even over the phone. Text messaging, Facebooking, tweeting, camming, blogging, online dating, and internet porn are vehicles of this oversharing, which blurs the boundary between public and private life. This book examines these ‘presentations of self’, acknowledging that we are now much more public about what used to be private. The book concludes with reflections on the impact of oversharing on identity, friendship, sexuality, family and democracy, and suggests steps people can take to re-establish the boundary between public and personal life.

Contents

1. Thanks for Sharing 2. Texting, Tweeting and Blogging 3. Social Media 4. Online Dating 5. Internet Pornography 6. A Non-Pornographic Public Sphere

Author Bio

Ben Agger is Professor of Sociology and Humanities and Director of the Center for Theory at the University of Texas at Arlington. He works in critical theory and media/cultural studies. Among his recent books are Body Problems: Running and Living Long in a Fast-Food Society and, with Tim Luke, A Journal of No Illusions: Telos, Paul Piccone and the Americanization of Critical Theory. He edits the journal Fast Capitalism, which can be found at www.fastcapitalism.com.