The world has changed a lot in the last 10 ten years. Click on facebook and you can see what your old high school friends had for breakfast. Thousands of strangers blog the random details of their daily lives. People tweet medical procedures and court trials.
In this context it's hard to know, sometimes, what's appropriate to share and what would be considered oversharing. That said, it's important to remember a few key guidelines for sharing/oversharing during your first few dates. There are some topics of conversation that are almost always a bad idea.
* Don't mention your past relationships, horrible exes, or how difficult it has been for you to get back into the dating game (because you were hurt so badly). This is not appropriate information for a first or second date.
* Don't mention family problems, or difficult relationships with family members. Wait until you get to know someone before you start airing your family's dirty laundry.
* Don't bring up health issues on the first or second date. If you're out to eat, order what you can eat (if you have dietary restrictions) without a 5 minute explanation of what you're ordering and why. Your date doesn't need to know about your medications and chronic illnesses at this stage of the game.
* Don't complain about work or co-workers. It's hard to do this without coming off as a negative person.
The key word here is edit. Edit yourself, thoughtfully, and have fun!
