This seems to be mostly (though not exclusively) a generational thing - as if things have changed to such a degree that you no longer have sovereignty over your internal experience. Like the boundary between public and personal has been removed. Certainly I've noticed this in North America.
I've known people that just demand to know things about you, and simply can't understand that you have boundaries and that there's information which is simply none of their business. Like someone asking you how you voted, or if you find XYZ person attractive, etc. Usually with some intention to sniff out some kind of latent and hidden evidence of wrongthink. Talking with some of these people feels like you're just waiting for them to pounce on you once you step over a line - and of course to out you in a public fashion, even when it's just you and them!
It's like people are bringing their Reddit personality into the real world, trying to score points by knocking others down. It's a really shitty way to be, and I've found even old friends fall into that trap.
I think much of this is due to the shift from an individualistic focus to a more group-related identity. I'm old enough that I find that bizarre, in a creepy authoritarian kind of way.
> I've known people that just demand to know things about you, and simply can't understand that you have boundaries and that there's information which is simply none of their business.
Are they your friends or family? Like I can not imagine some social interaction that goes beyond those frames. Friends or family usually do know you pretty well, they do not need to ask. Other people? Usually firm: 'None of your business' is enough to mark end of conversation.
Since usually, culture is imported to my side of the globe several years later, this makes me afraid for my kids. Will they have to fight peers like that? Will they become like that? This makes me wondering if I should not ban social media at my home till they grown up :D
This was actually not family - typically friends or friends-of-friends. Exclusively very online people, and those with strong ideological leanings. Typically younger, but not always.
I hear you: "none of your business" is definitely right, but what's surprising is how entitled some people now feel to knowing details that are absolutely none of their business.
I've known people that just demand to know things about you, and simply can't understand that you have boundaries and that there's information which is simply none of their business. Like someone asking you how you voted, or if you find XYZ person attractive, etc. Usually with some intention to sniff out some kind of latent and hidden evidence of wrongthink. Talking with some of these people feels like you're just waiting for them to pounce on you once you step over a line - and of course to out you in a public fashion, even when it's just you and them!
It's like people are bringing their Reddit personality into the real world, trying to score points by knocking others down. It's a really shitty way to be, and I've found even old friends fall into that trap.
I think much of this is due to the shift from an individualistic focus to a more group-related identity. I'm old enough that I find that bizarre, in a creepy authoritarian kind of way.