Doting mum sparks Facebook fury
It is a modern day dilemma for anyone with a social media account: when does sharing become oversharing?
Perth woman Jade Ruthven will not die wondering after an anonymous letter took her to task for excessive Facebook updates about her young daughter Addison.
The vitriolic letter, which claimed the first-time mum was "p.ssing a lot of people off", has made headlines around the world.
Ms Ruthven, 33, said she and husband Ryan had been overwhelmed by the "insane" response to the letter received last week.
"I was shocked and angry to think someone who apparently calls me a friend would be so gutless to not even sign their name," she said.
The letter's author accused Ms Ruthven of providing a "running commentary of your life and every single thing Addy does".
"Look we all have kids we are besotted with - guess what - every parent thinks their kid is the best ever," it said. "But we don't ram it down everyone else's neck She wears a new outfit - well take a photo and send it PRIVATELY to the person who gave it to her - not to everyone!!!! She crawled off the mat - we DON'T care!!
"Stop and think - if every mother posted all that cr.p about their kid - I'm sure you'd get over it pretty quickly."
Ms Ruthven said social media was a way for overseas family and friends to watch her daughter grow up. She said she hoped she never found out who sent the letter.
"At first I was really angry, now I've had time to digest it, my husband and I have pretty much laughed it off as a bad joke," she said.
Tama Leaver, a senior lecturer at Curtin University's department of internet studies said everyone had their own idea about how much online sharing was appropriate.
"The word overshare implies there is a norm and I don't think we have that as an established rule in society," he said.
"It is true that once someone in your group has kids - a lot of them tend to, so it can get to be a lot.
"That said, we do have the ability not to look."
