Censoring Yourself

For the most part, I blog on an almost daily basis. I say "almost" because I tend to skip a few days here and there, take hiatus of a few days/weeks, but with multiple posts a day, I tend to post daily. And, it has to be said, when I post, I am not shy what the subject at hand is. My own misfortunes, the mishaps of others, happiness, sadness, fear, humour - whatever is on my mind, things that have happened - I tend to post it all.

But - as has been pointed out on more than one occasion - I don't talk about everything that goes on. Everything is a broad subject, and to be honest, I don't think people want to read about my every moment of a day in minute detail.

Imagine the loo breaks, for example... Exactly.

But there is stuff I do skip, brush over, or completely don't discuss. Politics and Religion are the two biggies that I don't/won't discuss and, as mentioned elsewhere, I don't do the former as it's a very localised thing, and I don't do the latter as, well, I simply don't believe. But added to this, these two subjects can be the biggest flame bait of them all, and I don't want that.

Aside from that, I like to believe that every thing on the blog is as real as it gets, but I know for a fact I censor myself fairly often. I change names to protect those that might be surfing for themselves. I skip some material because I know it's not something everyone wants to read. I also know that some members of both Jo's and my own family read the blog, and know that some things might cause, shall we say, issues. And, there are things that are generally private.

Yes folks, believe it or not, I have a private life.

And it got me to thinking... Of all the other blogs out there, I wonder how many of them are complete photocopies of someones life, or if, like me, they've edited themselves for the sake of friends, family, decency, work or whatever. Even the adult blogs I read, some are anonymous, some talk only about their adult life, most use false names. So even they censor themselves.

I sat with a pad and pencil this afternoon, and wrote a list of the general stuff I discuss on the blog, and along side, a list of the things I don't discuss. I'm not talking about the size and consistency of my last crap, but real information about me. I found the list of "Public" and "Censored" items were identical in length, and was a little surprised.

Our of all my friends, my family, my close relatives - out of everyone that visits this blog (and excluding Jo), I know of just two people that know pretty much all there is to know about me. Everything. And I'm not sure that is a good thing or a bad thing. Is it good that I have a life that people don't know or understand away from everything else, or is it bad that I only trust two people with the secrets of ME?

So, bloggers that read this, whether you've commented before or not, have a quick vote. Think about your blog, and the things you could put on it. Do YOU censor yourself, and if so, how much? Do you find yourself editing your posts all the time, checking over to make sure there's nothing that other would recognise? Do you occasionally change names or post something then edit out the juicy bits? Do you post all the gore, but change a few items at the last minute, or are you brave enough to post every facet of your life? Vote, Comment - anonymously if you like - I'm just seeing what is what out in the world.

Do you censor your life?

Select an option:

All the time
Sometimes
A few minor details
Not at all

Plus I am tired and headachey and getting ready for bed.