What happened to TMI?
Cindy on June 30th, 2008
Remember when everyone was using the catchphrase Too Much Information? Whenever somebody shared something too intimate, too gross, or way over the top, we would cringe and say, “Oh my God, that was TMI… ” Back in the day, there were certain things you just didn’t unload (or write about) for public consumption. Topics like: bowel movements, jock itch, gynecological infections, other people’s legal troubles, your bra size, your sex life, what happens when you squeeze a pimple, the intensity of your hangover, or serious problems with your in-laws. I miss those days. I miss what my social-worker friend calls “healthy social boundaries.”
In the blogosphere, especially, TMI doesn’t seem to be an issue now. (TMI builds readership and ad revenue for magazines and newspapers, too.) Google the word poop, for example, and you’ll pull up countless blogs detailing the exact color and quantity of what new mothers found in their babies’ diapers this morning. So what is TMI now?
At the risk of sounding Victorian, I believe certain topics should be discussed only in the privacy of your own home, or among only the closest, most intimate friends and family members. I’m reminded of Rick, an old friend of mine who’s no longer with us. He had this favorite adage, and repeated it often: “What you don’t know, you don’t need to know.” I miss him too. –Cindy La Ferle
June 30th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I think commercials can push the envelope for what people think is acceptable to discuss in public. For instance, I can’t imagine being the mom of a preschooler today who hears a commercial and then asks: “Mommy, what is an …….. that lasts more than four hours?”
July 1st, 2008 at 8:41 am
It might be a generational issue. I find that younger people possess an “anything goes” viewpoint. Unfortunately, anything does not go. We need to develop an internal editor, who keeps us from crossing lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
A code of ethics is sorely needed in regards to the internet. I don’t know how that will happen, perhaps there will be a train wreck that results in litigation. I know that more than one blogger who has lost their job as a result of their “anything goes”. There are others who have forever damaged relationships with family and friends. Is the rush of being able to put it all out there worth the damage that it may cause?
Prudence. Prudence. Self-censorship. Those should be the new buzz words.
Of course, what do I know? I’m a dinosaur.
- Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
July 5th, 2008 at 12:51 am
I couldn’t agree more. I posted simply “TMI” as a comment to a recent momblog post that described the extreme methods she and her kids had gone to in a pinch – using a tampon to clean up a spill in a car, adult urinating in a baby diaper – you get the picture…
I am not particularly fazed by any of these realities of life, but is this really worthy of putting out there in the blogosphere? I believe it is a generational issue, and the attitude that prevails is “we can say anything so we do”. As far as I am concerned, writing is rewriting and editing is something that is not practiced nearly enough in this online world of ours.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Thanks for your great comments on TMI. A few months ago, while I was on vacation, I picked up one of those “edgy” weekly print tabloids and read a piece that revealed WAY too much about the writer’s sex life. Funny thing is, I think she was trying to be cute and sort of provocative — but honestly, at this point, we’ve all read so much of this stuff that we’re numb to it, or just not shocked anymore. The writer just ended up looking foolish for revealing more than anybody really wanted to know. All said and done, TMI is TMI!