(no subject)
Whenever I see people in Facebook pictures, I can't help but imagine some small, invisible creature standing on their shoulders yanking at the corners of their mouths. I believe that creature is named "Formality." Don't get me wrong - I can recognize a real smile and genuine emotion just as strongly as I can recognize the fake ones. Here's what I mean.
However, it's not so much the smiles that bother me, but the obsession with having to take pictures. It seems to me, especially with awakening of social networks, that pictures - from the quantity to the quality - are largely an indicator of status. So this obsession of not only taking massive amounts of pictures, but smiling and looking happy for all of them, stems from the desire to show the world that you do shit and you're happy while doing it. It may just be me, but are we in the 50's again - or are these illusions just built into the fabric of being a human? I get so sick of these people whipping out 40 digital cameras at parties following lines such as "Oh my gosh we HAVE To take pictures NOW!" More like "Oh my gosh we HAVE to PROVE that we're fun people!"
Another thought- fame is accessible to anyone. Just ask Andy McKee, the guy who lives in bumfuck Kansas and then suddenly gets 10 million views (topping Shakira and Timberlake). He now has recording contracts etc etc. As a result, narcissism has been amplified because we're now broadcasting to the world and not just the small social groups that surround our immediate area. Anyone can be a celebrity, and as a result, anyone can take on the negative aspects of that lifestyle - mainly living under a microscope and becoming super conscious of that fact. That's a lot of pressure, something I would never want to take on.
My attention is taking me elsewhere. Fuck writing.
However, it's not so much the smiles that bother me, but the obsession with having to take pictures. It seems to me, especially with awakening of social networks, that pictures - from the quantity to the quality - are largely an indicator of status. So this obsession of not only taking massive amounts of pictures, but smiling and looking happy for all of them, stems from the desire to show the world that you do shit and you're happy while doing it. It may just be me, but are we in the 50's again - or are these illusions just built into the fabric of being a human? I get so sick of these people whipping out 40 digital cameras at parties following lines such as "Oh my gosh we HAVE To take pictures NOW!" More like "Oh my gosh we HAVE to PROVE that we're fun people!"
Another thought- fame is accessible to anyone. Just ask Andy McKee, the guy who lives in bumfuck Kansas and then suddenly gets 10 million views (topping Shakira and Timberlake). He now has recording contracts etc etc. As a result, narcissism has been amplified because we're now broadcasting to the world and not just the small social groups that surround our immediate area. Anyone can be a celebrity, and as a result, anyone can take on the negative aspects of that lifestyle - mainly living under a microscope and becoming super conscious of that fact. That's a lot of pressure, something I would never want to take on.
My attention is taking me elsewhere. Fuck writing.