Do you keep your family matter private?

@scheng1 (24650)
Singapore
September 27, 2011 9:21am CST
Some people like to tell everyone about what their family members did. Usually proud parents are guilty of this. Even if their kids score the highest in class only once in a blue moon, they would tell everyone about it. It often makes the kid so embarrassed, since everyone assumes that this kid is the brightest bulb in the neighborhood. Sometimes people tend to complain about the annoying habits of their family members to others, such as colleagues, friends, classmates and strangers. Do you do that often? Or do you tend to keep your family matters private, and never tell anyone (except your best friend) about your family?
1 person likes this
11 responses
@stringer321 (5643)
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
27 Sep 11
Talking about other people is usually not the right thing to do. Not to tell about them good things and of course not to tell bad things about them. If you tell good things about them , some one can be jealuse and wish it will go wrong. If you tell about them bad things , of course you make them embarrassed , making bad name for them. So it works also on family members. I personally don't tell my family secrets and I don't talk about my parents or family members. I remember once my father was a partner in a restaurant and I told it to my friend and to my friend's parents and to some other people I knew. After some weeks , my father's partner stole the money from the restaurant and scamed him. Maybe that's because I told about the restaurant...who knows. My brother told me not to tell anyone about the restaurant. There is something that is called "evil eye" and maybe that what did it.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
28 Sep 11
Hi Stringer, yes, I agree with you on this point about not telling about good or bad things. We can make general comments, such as "My brother likes to eat pineapple." but not about how much he is making every month. That is too boastful, and really might incurred "evil eye". I prefer to use karma instead of "evil eye". I think when we are too boastful, we really will attract bad things to come. Once my mother got to know how much I was making a month. I told her to keep her mouth shut, but she went forward to tell some people. Three months later, the company shut down. I lost my high paying job. That is why I really believe your concept of "evil eye". I think the less we say, the less evil we attract.
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
28 Sep 11
If only there was a way to catch that evil eye and punch it in the face lol :) In general , thoughts have power to attract physical things that match them. It's the whole point of the book called "the secret". I really believe in it. Do you know about the experience made with water that froze with a certain molecular structure when exposed to different thoughts ? I guess thoughts do have some power. I basically try to avoid thoughts with intention because I know those have some power to do things somehow.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
29 Sep 11
Hi Stringer, even when you strongly believe in the Secret, the reality is that bad things do happen to the most positive people. For example, the earthquake in Japan affected so many parts of the world. Those Japanese restaurants in my country had no business for nearly a month after the earthquake in Japan. It is a natural reaction, since people are afraid to eat anything with risk of radiation contamination. I think the Secret works for the long term, but we still have to endure difficulties, and try to keep our mind very positive. Maybe when we look back after we are very successful in life, we can see that bad things can result in good ending. If not for people losing jobs, they might never learn about starting a business, and become very successful.
@thatgirl13 (7294)
• South Korea
27 Sep 11
I like keeping my family matters private. If there's not so much of a big thing I am very cool with it, but personal stuffs are always between me and the fam and yes I share them with my best friends only.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
29 Sep 11
Hi Thatgirl, I also like to keep my family matters private, even though sharing some information is normal among friends and colleagues. While there is no harm telling people that we have a few brothers or sisters, the problem comes when we want to boast about the importance of our siblings, saying things like "my sister earns xxx dollars". I think that is too personal an information to share.
• South Korea
29 Sep 11
Wow yeah I think that is a bit too much. I think I wouldn't even tell how much i earn once I start earning lol
@lucy67 (819)
• China
30 Sep 11
i always keep my family matter private. when i have complaints, i'd rather write a diary to relieve myself. if i have problems with my family and need advice, i will surf the net and try to find solution.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi Lucy, that is a very wise way to deal with problems. After all, we tend to talk too much, and sometimes we reveal the secrets of our family members. They expect us to keep such relationship problems in the family too. It is never wise to tell others of the bad traits of our family members. i think writing is a good way to let off steam.
@GemmaR (8517)
28 Sep 11
I think that far too many people discuss things on the internet which should really be private and kept within the comfort of your own home. I feel sorry for people who feel as though they have to say things about themselves and their families in order to get attention for themselves, because it just shouldn't be the type of thing that people choose to do. Things that could cause trouble should be kept to yourselves, as you just never know the amount of trouble that you might cause by spreading things that should actually be private.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi GemmaR and Stringer, I agree with both of your viewpoints for different reasons. For very private matter, such as our personal feelings, and salary or other money matter, it is best to keep private. We never know how much information our employer is checking on us, and we never know how long the information will be kept online. But for certain problems where we need help, it is all right to share. For example, someone in the family contacts a rare cancer, and we need to learn what to cook, what to do, and how to cope, then it definitely makes sense to share and ask for information online. It is unrealistic to expect our friends and colleagues to tell us what to do.
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
29 Sep 11
What do you think one can do if he suffers from his family and doesn't know what to do and he can't just keep it in secret ? I think discussing with people on the internet can be usefull since most of them just talk and share their opinion , not trying to find out who one really is , where one is from , and even if they know , they grant and encourage him and don't do anything with what they know about him. I personally feel safe discussing if I had a problem with my family. Getting advices would cheer me up and help me a lot.
• Philippines
28 Sep 11
There are things that has to be shared. and there are things i keep it to myself. And most of the time i keep it with in me
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi Igatiful, I think it also depends on the matter. If we want to share about our suffering and recovery of the latest flu episode, I think we will get many listening years. If we want to share about our work experience or experience in handling certain situations, our colleagues would like to participate as well. but when we try to brag about our achievements, or the achievements of our family, then that is very bad. It will make us a laughing stock if we find that others or their children are better in academic results.
• Philippines
28 Sep 11
to add with this.. it depends of the person i wanna share with..
@zerd87 (301)
• Philippines
27 Sep 11
For me I want the family matter to be private. There are things that we must keep private in our family because a family is always family. We must protect each other secrets and problems that will or can embarrass our family. That is why I really prefer to keep the family matter private.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
30 Sep 11
Hi Zerd87, yes, that is how I feel too. I mean, in every family, there are laughter and quarrels. We do not need to tell our colleagues that we have quarreled with our family members over TV channels or housework. That is a bit too much. I think certain information is helpful when needed, such as telling someone how to cope with cancer if we have such dealing with cancer patient at home.
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
27 Sep 11
Unless somebody actually asks about a family member, I usually keep it to myself. I don't like how it looks and sounds when somebody goes on and on about their child, or other relatives. It's nice to be proud of them, but it's a whole other thing to spout it out to everybody and anybody. That's bragging. Bad habits of relatives, I keep that to myself. Maybe another relative will bring it up, but if it's a non-family member, then my standard reply is usually 'Why do you want to know?' (which usually puts their nose back in their own business lol.) In other words, to me, it's not appropriate to discuss family problems with people who aren't even related. That seems disloyal to the family. I think this is where the phrase 'don't air your dirty laundry' comes from lol. It's always important to remember and think: how would I feel if it was ME being discussed that way? And then act accordingly.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi JoyfulOne, yes, I agree with your viewpoint. It is different if someone has a problem and asks for help. For example, some people find that they do not know what to do with teething problem in young kids. It is all right to seek for help. But to brag about achievement is not a good sign. Even if the kid is the top student in the whole country, there is no need to brag about test marks for every single test or examination.
@dodo19 (47038)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
29 Sep 11
Some things I don't mind sharing with others. However, there are things that are personal and I don't feel comfortable sharing those sorts of things with everyone. It can depend on the situation and such.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi Dodo, yes, it depends on the situation. It is bad to share personal achievement of our family members, since we do not know how much others will envy them. I think most of us find it comfortable to ask for help in dealing with certain sickness or symptoms. The most common is flu or cough. Hard to find anyone who can keep a secret of such matter when their kids are coughing very badly at night.
@bingskee (5234)
• Philippines
28 Sep 11
only to a chosen few. though i can accidentally tell a story if it is a funny one.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi Bingskee, it is good if we share jokes about our family to others. Sometimes our family members act funny or tell funny jokes, so it is good to share with people. But we definitely cannot brag about the achievements of our family to friends. That will make others envious, and they end up not liking us for bragging. I think we should learn what to say and what not to say.
@elamel (127)
• Philippines
28 Sep 11
In everything we do there is always a limitation. So when it comes to family matter there must be a limit in annoying our family members.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi Elamel, yes, I agree that there is a limit on what we can share. I mean we cannot go around and tell everyone how much our family members are earning or how much they spend every month. That is definitely too private to share with even our closest friend. Some people are too private, in that you can work with them for years and years, and never know whether their parents are still alive or not. That is also taking things a bit too close to themselves.
• China
28 Sep 11
To me,i will keep it as a secrete,maybe its ok to share sometimes,but sometimes the problem will rise just because couldnt handle it just right.So to be taciturn is better.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
1 Oct 11
Hi Sishen, yes, I would keep such things private too. There is no point in telling everyone, and people start to feel jealous of our family members. The worst thing is to reveal salary to outsiders, such as our neighbors. Some people like to brag, and they never can keep such things private. If the salary of their family members are higher than their neighbors, then people would feel envious. if the salary is lower, then people will look down on the family. Best to keep such things private, and not try to talk about it in anyway.