EUGH.
Ugh.
I don't up date for nearly 2 months, and what is it that finally pushes me to write something in here? Facebook of all things. Stephen and I just got in the most stupid argument over facebook via gTalk and now I'm so upset I can barely think.
For the record: I can't stand social networking sites. I find them to be a huge waste of time/energy, allowing people to create their own little vanity projects under the guise of "keeping in touch" with people that without such sites they'd either be too lazy or couldn't care enough to foster and maintain a friendship with in the first place. So instead, they add them, comment on their profile every once in a while, and proudly proclaim themselves as friends.
Since when does that constitute a friendship? I'm sorry but if they only way that a person and I are getting updates on each other is via MySpace bulletins, obligilatory comments "Happy Birthday! You Rule!" and periodic profile updates, how in all honesty can I call that person a friend?
Ok sure, maybe I'm being harsh, but what about the massive amounts of time people pour into these profiles and these random comments, that could actually go towards, hey, I don't know, a phone conversation or a cup of coffee, writing a personalized email, you know, they types of things that friendships are actually built on and that help friendships grow?
It just seems like one big cesspool of everything that is so wrong with a lot of people and the internet in general. Vanity, unproductivity, overtsexuality, desperation, self promotion, false sense of worth (I have 2349234 friends! OMG and I got 5 comments today!), tons of energy going into something, that ultimately, doesn't give back or add or help create anything useful.
Now I'm not saying that everyone on these sites is bad, or that all the profiles are terrible or that no one should use them. Hell I have a MySpace profile myself (although the only thing I ever find myself using for is music, and adding people back who've somehow stumbled across my profile and would like to believe that even though the last time I called them 4 years ago they didn't return my calls, that we are indeed, still friends, by virtue of simply having once known each other).
I'm just bothered by what these sites do to people. How obsessed they become with checking their profiles (even when they don't realise it). How some people can have entire conversations about what they did and who they found on FaceBook today. And I wouldn't say this if it didn't come from experience of actually knowing people who are/have been addicted to these sites. Addicited to what it does to their sense of self worth when 10 people comment 'ur hot!' on their lastest pic update. Addicted to the feeling or rush of getting some random hot person message them and say that they are cool. Addicted to people thinking their taste in music is 'good' or 'obscure' or whatever. Addicted to constantly tinkering with and updating their profiles so that it always looks cool when they could be putting that creative energy into something beautiful and useless for crying out loud.
Gah I could go on. And no, I'm not calling all of us who use these sites addicted. I'm not calling us all arrogant assholes and I'm not going to say that we all use them to get laid.
I'm just saying that when I say something as simple as "Facebook just isn't for me, sorry, but thanks for the invite" there's no reason to press it any further. I have my fucking reasons. I just don't like it. What in the world is so wrong with that?
I don't up date for nearly 2 months, and what is it that finally pushes me to write something in here? Facebook of all things. Stephen and I just got in the most stupid argument over facebook via gTalk and now I'm so upset I can barely think.
For the record: I can't stand social networking sites. I find them to be a huge waste of time/energy, allowing people to create their own little vanity projects under the guise of "keeping in touch" with people that without such sites they'd either be too lazy or couldn't care enough to foster and maintain a friendship with in the first place. So instead, they add them, comment on their profile every once in a while, and proudly proclaim themselves as friends.
Since when does that constitute a friendship? I'm sorry but if they only way that a person and I are getting updates on each other is via MySpace bulletins, obligilatory comments "Happy Birthday! You Rule!" and periodic profile updates, how in all honesty can I call that person a friend?
Ok sure, maybe I'm being harsh, but what about the massive amounts of time people pour into these profiles and these random comments, that could actually go towards, hey, I don't know, a phone conversation or a cup of coffee, writing a personalized email, you know, they types of things that friendships are actually built on and that help friendships grow?
It just seems like one big cesspool of everything that is so wrong with a lot of people and the internet in general. Vanity, unproductivity, overtsexuality, desperation, self promotion, false sense of worth (I have 2349234 friends! OMG and I got 5 comments today!), tons of energy going into something, that ultimately, doesn't give back or add or help create anything useful.
Now I'm not saying that everyone on these sites is bad, or that all the profiles are terrible or that no one should use them. Hell I have a MySpace profile myself (although the only thing I ever find myself using for is music, and adding people back who've somehow stumbled across my profile and would like to believe that even though the last time I called them 4 years ago they didn't return my calls, that we are indeed, still friends, by virtue of simply having once known each other).
I'm just bothered by what these sites do to people. How obsessed they become with checking their profiles (even when they don't realise it). How some people can have entire conversations about what they did and who they found on FaceBook today. And I wouldn't say this if it didn't come from experience of actually knowing people who are/have been addicted to these sites. Addicited to what it does to their sense of self worth when 10 people comment 'ur hot!' on their lastest pic update. Addicted to the feeling or rush of getting some random hot person message them and say that they are cool. Addicted to people thinking their taste in music is 'good' or 'obscure' or whatever. Addicted to constantly tinkering with and updating their profiles so that it always looks cool when they could be putting that creative energy into something beautiful and useless for crying out loud.
Gah I could go on. And no, I'm not calling all of us who use these sites addicted. I'm not calling us all arrogant assholes and I'm not going to say that we all use them to get laid.
I'm just saying that when I say something as simple as "Facebook just isn't for me, sorry, but thanks for the invite" there's no reason to press it any further. I have my fucking reasons. I just don't like it. What in the world is so wrong with that?