As someone who grew up with the internet, in the huge era of online safety campaigns, and the constant drilling in of not sharing your personal information online because itâs not safe. I will say this:
No one, not one single person, on the internet owes you their personal information.
What I share on my blog, is shared out of a choice, because thatâs a decision I chose to make. Because I talk frequently on neurodivergence and sexuality, and I know I have followers who connect with that.
But I donât owe people that information.
Strangers on the internet are never entitled to know:
Your name.
Your gender.
Your age.
Your date of birth.
Your location: City, State, Country, wherever.Â
Your religion.
Your ethnicity (your culture, your nationality)
Your race (skin colour)
Your mental health.
Your physical health.
Your sexuality.
Your anything at all.
That information is personal. If you choose to share it, thatâs your choice, but it is nobody elses right to have it, or demand it, or to manipulate it out of you.
If someone chooses not to share that. That is not some neferious plot.
This is something important to understand, especially for young people on the internet. Kids in highschool. Your information is your own personal right. Keeping that safe, keeps you safe online.Â
Weâre in this very questionable internet scape where your information can be taken, and searched, and found. Where there are people who can dox you because they had access to basic information that lead them to deeper info. Where one bit of information can be used to make a smear campaign against you. Or used to target harrassment.
(This is also a really shady time where our information is being quietly sold through advertisers, and taken by data breeches, and DDOS attacks. Where thereâs literal fuckin naziâs on this site that tumblr doesnât seem to care about because apparently breasts are worse?????)
This is why protecting your privacy and safety was such a huge campaign.
Everyone on the internet is a stranger. And yeah, imma cry âstranger dangerâ here cause thatâs what I grew up with, thatâs what I was taught as computers became the big thing, and I was growing up on forums and chat messengers at a super young age where I was incredibly vulnerable. And iâm very lucky to have not encountered what some people I know did.
A/S/L was the most frequent question people would ask, and no itâs not american sign language. Age/Sex/Location. People wanted your info.
You do not need to share that information with anyone.Â
Thereâs another good post on this topic here more focused on sharing age.
Thereâs a huge difference between sharing your interests and hobbies and fandoms and the general knowledge âtriviaâ of yourself in an âaboutâ page, VS sharing the entirety of your personal information.
So if someone just has their name, age, and pronouns, but doesnât list anything else beyond their music interests and fave bands. Thatâs not malicious, thatâs not nefarious. Thatâs exercising a right to choose what you share.
They donât owe anyone an indepth analysis of their gender. They donât owe anyone the knowledge of where they live. They donât need to reveal if they have a disability or not. Theyâre just 21 yr old Vera, who likes music and wants you to use they when refering to them.
Protect your information on the internet.Â
Be safe on the internet.
And donât let anyone pressure you, or guilt you, into sharing information you donât want to share.