6 Reasons Why You Should Keep Your Personal Life Private (and How to Do It)
We live in the digital age where it is almost impossible to keep our personal life private. We feel the need to overshare and post about everything happening in our lives on social media; including the food we eat, relationships, achievements, material possessions, whereabouts, thoughts, and emotions.
But what if you don’t want to share your personal life with strangers and friends on the internet or when having face-to-face conversations? Would you miss out on things or lose relevance?
In this post, we discuss the reasons why you should keep your personal life private and how to become a more private person.
Why You Should Keep Your Personal Life Private
A private life is a happy life, and you will come to this realization once you start keeping your business to yourself by becoming a private person.
Here are some of the reasons why you should keep your personal life private for a happier life.
- You will not owe anyone any explanations
Exposing all your drama and details about your personal life gives everyone a front-row seat to your show and invites their opinions. You can’t blame anyone if they demand to know more information about your life if you are the one shoving your business in their faces.
For instance, if you often post about your relationships, when things go wrong, say a breakup, for example, you will feel like you owe all these people you let into your private life an explanation. This is why you often see YouTube videos with titles like ‘WE BROKE UP’, or ‘GOING OUR SEPARATE WAYS.’
When living a private life, however, you keep your business to yourself, and you certainly don’t feel like you owe anyone any explanations because they don’t know what is going on in your life.
Reclaim your life from social media by keeping your personal life private.
READ ALSO: 10 Things You Should Never Apologize for
- Better mental health
Constant use of social media evokes feelings of inadequacy and life dissatisfaction resulting from social comparison which then affects your mental health negatively.
You could develop depression, stress, and anxiety because you feel like your life lacks something and you are behind on things.
You might also feel anxious whenever you post about your achievements for fear of other people’s judgments and whether they will approve of them. Are my achievements big enough?
Reduction in the anxiety and stress of waiting for validation from others are some of the benefits of keeping your personal life private and away from social media.
A private life is a happy life because you no longer care what people think of you or your life since they don’t know anything about it.
Furthermore, by being a private person, there is no longer a need for you to pretend, where you would have been tempted to lie or be fake to seem like you are just as happy or successful as everyone else seems to be.
You’re free to be your true self without fear of judgment. It is best to keep private life private to be happier.
READ ALSO: The Effects of Social Media Use on Mental Health | MENTAL HEALTH AND THE INTERNET
- Safety
If you’re not yet convinced why you should keep your personal life private, your safety is a good reason to do it.
Have you ever heard tales of people who got cyberstalkers intruding into their real life because of information they shared online?
Having every detail of your life available to the public, especially your location or home address, can be used against you, thereby threatening your safety and security.
It is vital to learn how to become a responsible digital citizen because the internet is full of people from all walks of life and you can never know who is watching or reading your content. This is one of the reasons why you should keep your personal life private because by so doing, you eliminate the threat to your safety…up to a point.
At least if you do have the unfortunate experience of having a stalker, burglar, or identity thief (because these people often find alternative ways to get your details), you will know you didn’t supply them with the information on how to find, exploit, blackmail, or kill you.
If you care about your well-being and that of the people close to you, your security and safety must be a priority. Learning how to keep your personal life private is an act of self-preservation.
READ ALSO: 5 Best Crystals for The Protection of Your Home and Yourself
- You build better relationships
Another good reason to keep your private life private is it gives you a chance to focus on what matters most to you.
When you know what is important to you, you don’t go allowing every Tom, Dick, and Harry to have access to it, and instead, you treasure and cherish it.
For instance, some details of your personal life, such as your love life, should be kept private and not shared with others, including any arguments or relationship struggles you might be going through unless it is with a counselor or doctor. Having private relationships helps you avoid unnecessary drama if things go south.
However, living a private life does not mean you should push people away, never open up about your feelings, or be isolated. It involves choosing carefully what details of your personal life you’re comfortable sharing and with whom you decide to be vulnerable.
Keeping your personal life private allows you to form more genuine bonds with your friends and family and only allow a small circle of people you trust into your world.
It’s better to share and connect with a few people who truly care than do the same with a big audience that doesn’t.
READ ALSO: 5 Best Ways to Invest in Yourself for a Better Future
- For your career
Did you know that around 70% of employers look up potential candidates’ social media profiles to determine the kind of person they are? Of these, 54% admit to not hiring someone based on details they found on their profiles.
Now imagine if they were to look up your profile and all they found are inappropriate photos, the drama you have incited, or racial slurs and sexist jokes you made in the past.
Airing your dirty laundry on social media might not be a good idea if you want to look more professional. It is best to keep your personal life private for your career.
- Not everyone is your friend
You can’t trust just anyone with information about your personal life. Even some of your so-called friends could have malicious motives, or they could be gossips.
Any confidential information shared with them could eventually reach ears you didn’t intend them to, hence why you should keep your personal life private.
Some of the things to keep private and never confide in anyone you don’t trust include, your relationship struggles, finances, family issues, material possessions, and goals or dreams.
Your private life is meant to stay private, so keep it that way.
READ ALSO: 11 Types of Toxic Friends You Don’t Need in Your Life
How to Keep Your Personal Life Private
You now know the reasons why you should keep your personal life private. But how can you live privately?
Since this is the age of social media and humans are still curious creatures, living a private life is not that easy, but it is possible.
Here is how to become a more private person;
- Be a boring person
No one will bother with your business if you are boring – at least when dealing with nosy people.
They won’t want to keep asking questions or digging into your private life if they believe nothing exciting happens in it or if you keep giving them nonanswers.
- Set boundaries
Keep private life private. As a private person, you don’t have to talk about your personal life if you don’t want to. So stop being too nice and set boundaries on what you are willing to share about yourself then let your friends know.
If put on the spot to talk about things you are uncomfortable discussing, don’t be afraid to not respond. If you can, redirect conversations about your personal life to other topics.
READ ALSO: 7 Things You Can Do Now That Your Future Self Will Thank You For
- Pause before sharing
Just because you got an interview for your dream job doesn’t mean you need to rush to Twitter to share it with the world.
You don’t know who could be watching your actions and if they have ill wishes for you, hence why you should keep your personal life private.
If possible, avoid social media and phones entirely if the temptation becomes too much.
- Keep only a few trustworthy friends.
Not everyone deserves a seat at your table, and not everyone deserves to hear your story.
To keep your personal life private, do not share confidential details about your personal life with friends you cannot trust, and instead, keep your circle small by including only those you can.
READ ALSO: How to Keep More Good Friends in Your Life
- Mind your own business
Humans are curious by nature, and you are not an exception.
However, nosiness goes both ways. If you are a nosy person, your friends and any other people whose business you stick your nose into will feel entitled to snoop into your life too.
If you want to become a private person, you should start minding your own business.
Bottom Line
Although some people are offended when they realize you are unwilling to open up and want to keep your personal life private, being a private person is okay.
Your life is your business, and only you should decide how much of yourself you are willing to share with others.
As you can see, there are numerous benefits of keeping your personal life private. It protects you and your loved ones from unwanted opinions, security threats, and any unnecessary drama that would arise if you were to make your personal life everyone’s business.
A private life is a happy life. Starting today, become a more private person to be happier and more fulfilled in life!
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Very educative article…Yes personal life should be kept personal..to be shared with only the select few who are close …
Stay blessed..
🙏🌹🌹
Exactly! Thank you so much for reading, Jas.
Stay blessed too🙏
I don’t share my blog with people I know in real life, mostly for these reasons. Especially reason 6, which I’m sure most of my family and people around me would love to laugh at my weight loss photos and my troubles with eating disorders.
It’s so weird that sometimes it’s easier to open up to strangers than irl people but I guess it’s because there are lower stakes. Judgment or mockery from family and other people close to you can really crash you. Thank you so much for reading, Ang.
I agree, I really don’t want others to know my business, plus it’s just going to give them plenty more excuses to judge me and stick their nose into my life, with I absolutely cannot stand. I also feel like it’s better for others mental health as well when we keep our lives private!💕
I’ve never thought of it as a way to protect others too. Thank you so much for the insight❤
No problem Sheri!💕
I think oversharing has become such a norm in today’s society hence why people struggle to maintain privacy especially in times when it’s truly needed. You’re point about having a boring life couldn’t be more accurate to keep the nosey people at bay 😂
😂Yeah, just make them think you live a boring life, they won’t be interested anymore
There is so much advice out there that we need to be vulnerable and authentic. Your post is a thoughtful warning to those tempted to overshare with the wrong people.
True. It is not wrong to be open. We just have to be careful what and whom we are sharing it with. Thank you so much for reading, Michael.
You really can’t fully trust anyone! My “best friend”of 40 years betrayed me and spread gossip about my family. I won’t be sharing fully again with anyone but my partner and one sister.
This is a great post! It can definitely be tempting to overshare with social media, but I’m very private because honestly I don’t think other people care outside of nosiness xx
Most of them don’t really care. Just looking for gossip or ways to one-up you. Thank you so much for reading!
My personal insight…. I once led a very private life. I was miserable. I was lonely. I was physically ill. I started attending Celebrate Recovery (CR) meetings, I actually walked in not knowing what it was, and someone said, “No one shows up here by accident.” One of their sayings is, “You’re as sick as your secrets.” I was sick. I had a lot of secrets. I lived my private life of social isolation until I almost died.
I shared all my secrets in CR open share group and step studies. As I confessed my secrets, my body began to heal. I know it probably sounds to simple to be true. However, my personal experience is that trying to live the private life shattered both my mental health and physical health and nearly killed me. Living in transparency… I am much better now. It doesn’t mean that I owe anyone explanation though… not unless their people I have asked for accountability if they see me straying from my purpose and path.
Thank you for sharing your experience living a private life. Like I said in the post, it’s up to a person how much of themselves they are comfortable sharing with others.
Living privately does not mean you should isolate yourself, never let anyone in, or bottle up your feelings though. That’s bound to have negative effects on someone’s mental health. Instead, it’s about choosing carefully what details of your personal life you share and who has access to it.
However, it’s your choice to either keep your personal life transparent or private depending on how each lifestyle affects you. In your case, transparency seems to be working better, hence you should continue living that way. x
Thanks for sharing, sound practical advice!
Thank you so much for reading! I’m really glad you liked the post❤
Agreed that it is important to keep some of our lives private. you don’t know who is watching and what they will do with thr information.
Exactly! Keeping our personal lives private is really vital for our safety. Thank you so much for reading, Helen!❤
That right
Thank you for reading❤️
Great post! Today I recognise the benefits of being more private about my life.
I liked some of the points there such as employer checks profiles, being vulnerable to not everyone but to selected people. And yes social media does bring anxiety to how the audience interacts with you. Xx
Isa A. Blogger