We have this deep, innate curiosity about the people and things around us. We want to know more, to dig deeper, to see all that there is to see.

You see people probing into each other's lives, and then devouring what the tabloids feed them about celebrities' lives. Those two things come from the same root basically: the desire to know more about someone else's life, even though it is none of your business most of the time. Let us face it -- it's called 'personal' for a reason.

It is not our business to pry into the lives of the people we know or to ask for personal details, unless we are quite sure that it is not a breach of privacy.

Sometimes, when you know that the person wants you to inquire (about his/her day or something that just happened because he/she wants to tell you about it), it is perfectly fine. You sometimes get the impression that a person is bursting to tell you something but refrains from doing so until you broach the subject or ask them directly, which then gives that person the opportunity to share whatever it is he/she wanted so badly to tell you.

In some situations, asking questions about an individual's personal life shows that you care and that it matters to you, which is a great thing because it makes them feel more comfortable around you, knowing that they can talk to you and you will listen and be interested in what they have to say.

On the other hand, though, many times your questioning is unwelcome and considered an intrusion into another person's life, especially if you are not close friends and you do not have the right to know everything about that person.

I would say that the rising popularity of blogging is contributing to the decline of that sensitivity of what is personal and what is not. Perfect strangers have the opportunity to read your thoughts, to know what is going on in your life (if you make it public on your blog), and to acquaint themselves with another person's drama. In my opinion, people often go too far in what they allow the public to know. But that, of course, is their choice, and if they have no problem with it, what can I say?

My issue is really with how far people can go in trying to find out more about somebody else's life, even when it is none of their business.

I hope to continue this topic in one of my future posts as it relates to people in the public eye and literature.

Some other future posts:
* Childhood
* Edgar Allan Poe