One more sign that I’m getting old: I don’t tell my friends what my salary is.
According to a New York Times article this morning, younger workers (aged 20-35) are much more likely to share salary details with friends and family. Some people quoted in the article said being more open about salary makes sense in the Internet age and can help workers understand their worth.
I’m still skeptical about the value of talking about your salary. The article didn’t spend much time on the issue of sharing salary details among coworkers, which remains taboo. For some wise advice on this, see “Beware of Sharing Salary Details.”
I think people in my generation are fine with sharing almost everything. We see this on Facebook, MySpace, Match.com, etc. As much as we complain about privacy, we are the first ones to share.