Keeping Secrets From Family Members/Close Friends

[Azure Sage]

People are entitled to have privacy. You should absolutely not have to tell someone everything just because they're family. Though, wanting privacy is a little different from keeping secrets. As others have mentioned in this thread, sometimes keeping things like your orientation a secret is best for your personal safety. It's sadly common for people to be disowned or shunned or even abused by their family for being who they are. If revealing your orientation would put you in such a situation, you should definitely not tell them about it unless you're able to remove yourself from such a toxic situation.

Bottom line, it's not wrong to keep secrets from your family or friends. If the secret is something that would put you in danger of abuse if your family should find out, that's all the more reason to keep the secret. Your personal health and safety always comes first. It especially should not be undermined by closed-minded ideas that you're a bad person for not telling your family everything. Looking out for yourself is very important. You should not put yourself in toxic situations if you don't have to.

If the secret is more harmless, like you have a hobby you don't want to tell others about, then that's fine. Like I said, you aren't obligated to tell your family or friends everything about yourself. Simply not talking about yourself because you like your privacy is also perfectly okay. Some people just enjoy having private lives. It doesn't make them a bad person or dishonest or anything else like that.

 

[bunny]

I don't think it's wrong at all. Whether you feel you're close to your family or not is irrelevant. I keep some secrets from my family for the sole reason I don't want to get made fun of. For some reason, certain families tend to think it's okay to mock their relatives because they're "just teasing" or "someone's gotta keep you in check", whatever. I've heard a lot of that kinda stuff. That's not the only reason, though. For others they may want to keep information to themselves simply because it's their own right to privacy. It can be uncomfortable sharing every aspect of your life; I don't see what's wrong with that.

I do want to address something else, however. Even when it comes to your own health, if you're an adult and you don't want to tell people you're terminally ill or something... It should be your own decision. I personally think people should tell their family, but if you come from an abusive home or such, then you have no obligation to talk to your family at all. Staying on point, even big decisions/news are yours to make and share with whomever you like.

Basically, as long as it's legally correct, (if you hit their car or something you should probably tell them) you can tell them whatever you want and keep whatever you want to yourself. And really, let's be honest, everybody keeps secrets. I don't think families automatically get some kind of trump card. They have to earn your trust just like everybody else.

 

[Ventus]

everyone has secret its just who you share it with that counts remember that not everyone can have the same knowledge so its important to keep some things secret

 

[Mipha]

I consider it to be at least somewhat wrong, but in my case I don't have much of a choice. My main secrets being my political ideology, my gender identity, ZD, and a few other things that are best kept secrets.

 

[Sicarius]

Depends what kind of secret this is. It's bad to keep secrets such as how many partners you had done it with or hiding an STD especially if it's a life threatening one.

As long as the secret doesn't affect other people negatively, I don't see the problem.

 

[TattooArtist]

Shhhh I have a secret amazing girlfriend that my family have no idea about cuz she's too amazing they could faint ~ @Evelyn'sCreed