Some years back, I belonged to a group, but within a few months of being a part of it, I left. Do you know why?

People in groups discuss a lot of stuff. Political, religious, economic and/or social, apart from the mundane daily fare (which is sort of my field, the ordinary and mundane). Well, practically anything under the sun goes in most groups.

Now where’s the difficulty in that, you wonder. As long as people are civil to each other and things do not descend into name-calling and comment wars, with people storming off (Read, exiting group), things should be okay. Right? Of course, yes.

But

As a blogger, mine is a different kind of problem. Most groups have the ‘don’t take things outside the group’ policy. That’s okay by me too. I don’t want to share personal stuff. The problem arises when general topics are construed as private matter of groups just because it was discussed there.

How fair is that?

As you all know, I write about stuff that touches me. The thoughts shared here on my blog are personal views and opinions of mine on what is happening around me in daily life. Do they become off-limits for me just because it has been discussed in the group?

The answer is a resounding ‘NO!’

And yet some think otherwise.

Frankly, I want to be able to write about things that I care about without having to cross check with what each one has said (or not said) in the group.

That was when I decided, groups are not for me, and opted out.

For a long time afterwards, I kept away from groups. of all kinds.

Now, years later, I am once again part of a group, a bigger group, a nice group. Sometimes I see discussions there on topics close to my heart (which I quite enjoy), and I find myself in the same quandary as before. Will it be construed as ‘taking things outside (the group)’ if I wrote down my thoughts about the same subject matters?

Should I just exit the group?

Or should I instead keep my fingers crossed and hope no one from the group reads my blog?

Decisions, decisions. 😉

©️ Shail Mohan 2025