Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Public or Private? Choosing Wisely When Sharing Information

I consider myself a rather private person. While I was running solo across states and countries from 2006 through 2011, my privacy was considerably lessened as I put myself out on paved highways and the Internet highway with greater frequency to share the running adventures I was undertaking. However, now that I am in my mid-50's I prefer to lead a much more private life out of the spotlight -- spending most of my time with my family when I am not at the office.

In February 2019, I wrote a blog post regarding my social media. At that time, I had 35 Facebook friends (after eleven years), 21 Twitter followers (after five years), and 23 Instagram followers (after two years). Now, nearly 1½ years later, I can tell you that I've added 13 Facebook friends, 1 Twitter follower, and 7 Instagram followers. Why the 'big' boost in Facebook friends (and I use the term 'big' loosely!)? I recently became Catholic and there were some within my church who wanted to connect via Facebook.

There is quite an overlap with the people who follow my social media accounts, most being family and close friends -- and only a few being in the acquaintance category. Suffice it to say, the total number of individuals who can access my social media content actually adds up to about 50 people. Yes, that's the grand total of my actual social media "friends" and "followers."

Most of my children have hundreds of followers on their social media accounts. That seems to be the case with several of the people who follow my social media. One pastor that follows me has nearly 5,000 Facebook friends! There's even a man in my church who is nearing 90 years of age with almost four times the number of Facebook friends than I have. Simply stated, I'm a rather private person -- regardless of what people can see through this blog, my YouTube channel, or my Google photo albums.

I know that you're probably thinking that a person who writes between 100 to 200 blog posts per year can't possibly be that "private." However, the posts that I make are about matters that I don't mind placing into the public eye. I choose topics wisely and am selective about what information I share. I wrote my first blog post in September 2005, nearly fifteen years ago. About five years ago I chose to remove my blog writings from the Internet and on June 23, 2016 I started this blog -- which primarily focuses on topics related to family, faith and fitness. I hope you'll come back again to read what I have to share.

From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),

Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek

Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
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