Many of us share lots of aspects of our diabetes lives online for the world to see. What are some of the aspects of diabetes that you choose to keep private from the internet? Or from your family and friends? Why is it important to keep it to yourself? (This is not an attempt to get you out of your comfort zone. There is no need to elaborate or tell personal stories related to these aspects. Simply let us know what kinds of stories we will never hear you tell, and why you won’t tell them.)
It’s funny, despite having presences on a variety of social media platforms, my enthusiasm for sharing aspects of my diabetes life waxes and wanes. With efforts like #dayofdiabetes, sharing is paramount. But I can just as easily go a week or two without posting a Dexcom picture on Instagram or mentioning diabetes on Twitter. Outside of Dayle’s own diabetes experiences, I don’t necessarily consider anything off limits for the sake of keeping a piece of me private. Sometimes I simply don’t feel like sharing anything because I don’t feel like sharing anything. Boring, right?
Maybe I don’t feel an obligation or responsibility to be that kind of active in the diabetes community anymore. I mean, it’s been ages since I’ve participated in a #dsma chat.I sort of feels like I’m pushing the responsibility to maintain an open and welcoming online community to others, but maybe it isn’t as cold as that. Maybe it’s that there is always an opportunity to participate in the conversation whenever you’re comfortable. With so many active members of the diabetes community, there’s always going to be a conversation for someone to find.
Trusting that there will always be a place for us to share our experiences with diabetes online allows for people to pull back and not share everything that’s on their mind. That’s one of the great things about this community, right?
Sure, there will always be a time and place for sharing, even anonymously, but there’s something to be said for keeping a part of your life to yourself.
A Consequence of Hypoglycemia. 