People Who Never Post Their Personal Life Online Usually Share These 11 Sneaky Habits
Mangostar / Shutterstock Some people are comfortable being open books online. Social media is often used as a diary. Sharing your daily life on social media may even become a career opportunity. So many of us post online daily without thinking about it.
Not everyone is comfortable sharing their lives with the world. They may choose to keep their personal life offline. However, that does not mean they avoid social media altogether. They may be lurking online, and you have no idea. They do sneaky things that protect themselves online while also maintaining a presence on social media. Although they never post, they are still around.
People who never post their personal life online usually share these 11 sneaky habits
1. They still use social media to socialize
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If someone isn’t posting on social media, you may assume they stay off the apps altogether. However, they may use the social part of social media. They may keep their lives offline, but they enjoy watching yours and interacting with them. I notice this sometimes. I’ll post something, and a friend who never shares their own posts will comment. We’ll catch up that way. I may not have thought to contact them there because they don’t have an online presence.
Social media plays a major role in making and maintaining friendships. Although someone may choose not to post, they may use an account to sneakily keep in touch with their loved ones.
2. They scroll even if they don’t post
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Some people who refuse to share their personal lives online may be sneaky lurkers. They don’t want to post about themselves, but they are interested in what you’re sharing. When someone uses social media this way, they want to keep up but are not interested in being part of your feed. Instead, they scroll and keep themselves guarded. They are still keeping up to date with the latest trends and stories, but keeping their face out of it.
Limiting access to social media has been known to boost mental health. If someone is only browsing occasionally, they may have less anxiety. Plus, someone like this isn’t seeking likes, which could cause more mental health struggles.
3. They’re selective about photos
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If someone wants to keep their personal lives offline, they may be extra selective about the photos they share of themselves. Likely, they know your digital fingerprint outlives you. They may not want to leave behind a legacy of unattractive photos. Not just because of how they feel they look, but also what they may have been doing in the photos. Protecting themselves may be their best option.
These people may practice self-discrepancy. This is trying to forge their actual self with their imagined self. It can make them selective about how they portray themselves in photos online.
4. They think about the future
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We have all heard horror stories about people who shared a bit too much online and had it come back to bite them. A person like this might still use social media, but be sneaky about it. They do not want to risk their posts impacting their future. Instead, they keep a low profile. They are mindful about what they share.
Social media changes our perception of life and those we know. If someone portrays themselves one way online, it can cause issues in the future. This mindful person chooses to avoid that risk, but still checks social media.
5. They can be judgmental of what people post
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Some people choose not to post online and judge what they see others do. They can use social media to look at other people’s lives and critique them. They are sneaky about it, looking at profiles without making it obvious. Seeing what others post makes them not want to post their own lives. They see how it looks from the outside.
A judgmental person who uses social media without posting much of their life can be sneaky about their scrolling. They may have bad intentions when looking at others.
6. They avoid online drama but watch from a distance
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I don’t know about you, but I am a professional lurker when it comes to online drama. I refuse to be part of it, but I want to read every comment on the thread. I’m sneaky about it, never liking or commenting. I avoid them from afar and keep my own life drama-free. It’s fun when it doesn’t involve you.
If someone chooses to keep their personal life offline but enjoys watching drama, they may want to maintain a clean reputation. They don’t want to get caught up in drama that isn’t theirs, but they'll watch it all unfold in secret online.
7. They like to be mysterious
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Some people mysteriously use social media. They are sneaky about what they post. They may curate their entire social media profile to leave people asking more questions. We all know someone who posts cryptic things. We can never get a read on that person’s online persona. Someone who refuses to post their personal life may choose to post sneaky, general content to keep their lives private.
Some people will pay to have their social media curated a certain way. If someone is telling a story online that reveals very little about themselves, it is likely intentional.
8. They separate their public and private identities
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Sometimes, people can be sneaky about who they portray themselves as online. Someone’s online identity can be completely different from who they are in real life. This type of person does not want to put too much of themselves online. Instead of getting personal, they’ll keep things surface-level. They want to make sure they are portraying themselves a certain way.
"Digital technology allows people to construct and vary their self-identity more easily than they can in the real world. This novel digital-personality construction may, or may not, be helpful to that person in the long run, but it is certainly more possible than it is in the real world. Yet how this relates to "personality," as described by traditional personality theories, is not really known," says Phil Reed, D.Phil.
9. They get their validation internally
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We have experienced someone who seeks validation online. Perhaps we have done it ourselves. I know I have. It can feel good to get compliments and reassurance online. If someone doesn’t need to get their validation online, they may sneakily choose to lift themselves up instead.
Self-validation is important. It’s something we can all benefit from. Looking internally instead of posting our lives online for it can be life-changing.
10. What they share is strategic
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Sneaky social media users may be strategic about what they post. They want to portray a certain life online. They do not want to show too much of their personal lives. Instead, they want to control what others see. They have a strategy for sharing pieces of themselves on the internet.
A person like this may choose to post their very best selves online. Instead of sharing every aspect of their personal lives, they choose to portray themselves differently. Whether it’s to climb the career ladder or to keep their privacy, it’s all a sneaky strategy.
11. They practice digital boundaries
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A sneaky social media user is all about boundaries. They do not want to share too much about themselves. It can be difficult to navigate, as some people may try to break them. Whether it’s a friend tagging you in a post or sharing too much about your night out, they try to avoid this. They want to keep their personal lives completely offline.
Sometimes, people may not understand they are crossing a digital boundary. Someone like this is not only comfortable setting them, but also enforcing them.
Haley Van Horn is a freelance writer with a master’s degree in Humanities, living in Los Angeles. Her focus includes entertainment and lifestyle stories.
