Our tell-all social media culture leaves nothing to the imagination

LOOKING at the news these days, it’s hard not to feel that the boundaries between public and private have become seriously out of whack.

We’re so used to the likes of Kim Kardashian posing naked “to show off her spray tan”, or Gemma Collins talking about her “designer vagina” that we barely bat an eyelid.

But is nothing off limits any more?

The latest example that really struck me was Glee actress Naya Rivera talking in detail about an abortion she had after getting pregnant with Ryan Dorsey, who later became her husband.

The alleged point of her story was to illustrate that the understanding Dorsey showed after she told him she had aborted his baby following their split in 2010, “melted her heart with kindness”.

Naya had discovered she was pregnant weeks after they had broken up, she said, and decided on the termination so she could concentrate on her career.

Talk about too much information.

I don’t even know that kind of detail about some of my best friends, for goodness sake.

And surely there is a less intrusive way of telling the world what a loving husband she has?

I find that desire to “share” something so intimate absolutely staggering.

And honestly, I’m not sure of her motive.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t good enough.

This is the culture we are surrounded by these days.

TV shows such as Ex on the Beach, Geordie Shore — with selfie-obsessed Charlotte Crosby — and Big Brother routinely show people sharing everything from their naked bodies to their sex lives with the entire nation.

The Real Housewives of everywhere from Beverly Hills to Cheshire, along with the Kardashian family, have created a certain level of expectation.

That, plus the juggernaut that is social media, means that at any given moment we have a window into the intimacies of other people’s lives that we can peer through when we choose.

Over-sharing has become the norm.

As a result, a generation has grown up expecting to know everyone else’s business — and to tell everyone else theirs.

But not content with tweeting and Instagramming our every mood, meal, holiday and kiss, it seems that in order to truly make an impact on the world we need to share our dirty laundry in public — even if it is damaging.

That certainly seemed the case with someone such as Gail Porter, who recently shared her decision to have surgery to reduce her 28JJ boobs.

I don’t for one moment begrudge or question any woman’s right to choose either an abortion or breast reduction surgery.

But do they really need to tell the whole world about it?

And did Gail really need to illustrate her confession with the world’s most unflattering and candid photo?

It almost seemed like a form of self-harm for her to share a picture that appears to be inviting the world to ridicule her — not to mention reduce her to the size of her boobs.

I feel for her but I don’t know why she put herself through that much public scrutiny.

It’s the same with Channel 4 show Embarrassing Bodies.

Why would anyone possibly want to show their infected piles to the world?

Or take part in nude dating show Naked Attraction?

I mean — even if you had the body of a goddess — why would you?

I thought Britain was supposed to be a repressed nation.

But all of this is enough to wish for a return to Victorian values.

I guess for some people the motivation for this kind of confessional existence is an attempt to further their career, or make money by selling their story.

But who wants to have a career based on over-sharing rather than talent and hard work?

It’s funny, because most people I know spend their time trying to keep their private lives out of the newspapers.

But the new generation seems to be the opposite, going to lengths to sensationalise their very personal and private lives in a bid to get into the newspapers.

Talk about publicity for all the wrong reasons.

Cut the Clinton criticism

I REALLY felt for Hillary Clinton last week.

Most of us couldn’t even begin to keep up with her schedule.

The closest I’ve ever come is when I went to China with the then PM David Cameron.

My God. The speeches, the talks, the meetings, the meals and the handshaking he did for 20 hours a day was just incredible – and believe me, I’m no stranger to hard work.

But at the time I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if he’d passed out due to exhaustion.

Hillary Clinton has been on a similar timetable for month after relentless month.

It’s caught up with her and she has pneumonia.

Not that I am advocating it, but isn’t working so hard you’ve made yourself sick evidence of conviction and dedication?

But instead of giving her some space to recover, people are falling over themselves to suggest that she is not fit to run for president.

The truth is, when an outspoken and powerful woman like Hillary comes along, the world often doesn’t know what to think.