I is for “Intimate Strangers” - Oxymorons from A to Z

I is for “Intimate Strangers” - Oxymorons from A to Z

Blame it on the internet … or not. How can a person be both a stranger and an intimate contact? Isn’t it intriguing how many people share the deepest, most personal secrets of their lives with total strangers? Sometimes these folks, who may never meet face to face, seem to know more about one another than those who have shared childhoods or who live in the same households.

We used to frown at folks who over-shared on long bus rides and cross-country flights, telling others at first meeting all about their own lives. Now we post photos of our parents, pets, and kids - for all of cyberspace to see.

That's right. We're intimate strangers. But is that right?

Maybe it feels somehow safer to unload private concerns and reveal close-held confidences to those outside our in-person circles. But look what we have created:  intimate strangers, an oxymoron for sure.

Are we talkin’ TMI?

Can ill-defined boundaries lead to insecurity, or even inappropriate interference?

What’s an oxymoron?

Basically, an oxymoron is a phrase that seems contradictory or incongruous. Taken literally, the words do not make sense. Often, oxymorons find their way into popular usage, becoming cultural catchwords or frequently used idioms.

Many of these curious wordings strike us as delightfully amiss. Besides, what sort of whimsical word is “oxymoron”?

Delightfully Amiss: Berzerkians Gone Amok … and Finding the Funk in Dysfunction is participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge. That means you can find a new post every day (except Sundays, because those are the event rules) throughout the month of April. Be sure to bookmark, follow, or subscribe! And please leave a comment, especially if you’re playing along with the A to Z Challenge.

 

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Oxymorons from A to Z

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