I joined Facebook about a month ago. I'm not sure I like it. But I do. Kinda. The whole "keep everyone updated on me" thing is just so narcissistic. At least, that's what it feels like to me. Which is probably why I don't use it that much. I guess you could say the same thing about LJ, but... But LJ is more of a thought dump than a look at what I'm doing all daaaaayy long. Facebook's like you're living at home and checking in with the parents.
On the up side, I'm seeing what some of the people I went to school with are doing with their lives now. On the down side, I keep getting hit with little gadgets that make you acknowledge that you're giving them access to your info. It's stressful from a IT/personal security point of view. Because of that, I'm probably never gonna do Twitter. "Hee, I'm taking a shit!" "Hee, I'm done shitting!" "Dude, I just gorged myself til I almost puked!" "I'm going to work now." "I'm back." I think I'll pass.
In a way, I don't understand the need for the constant updates on your life. What do you have to talk about when you meet in real life?
"Guess what happened to me today?"
"I know."
"And last week,..."
"I know."
"Oh!"
[chirpchirpchirp]
"Ooo! I gotta send out a tweet cause this soooo embarrassing!"
"Yeah! Me too!"
[taptaptaptap]
Eventually, people aren't going to feel the need to meet with anyone. You're gonna know before hand what they're thinking, what they've done and how many times their S.O. has pissed them off. There will be no catching up to do. Instant knowledge of who's done what all zapped to your portable device of choice. Everyone wandering around and laughing or crying or yelling without any visible outside physical source for the emotions. Every person becoming an island unto themselves except for the tiny lines of text that connect them. Welcome to the digital community, digital world, digital reality.
Which really sucks in a way. It's a lonely way to live. You get to know a lot about people by the way their voice sounds, the way their face moves, the way they hold their body. You get know if they're really embarrassed because they're blushing and stammering vs. "OMG, I'm sooooo embarrassed! *@_@*" (Or something along that line.) You get to know that they care about you because they perk up and their voice gets brighter when you come up to them, instead of "Oh, you're so interesting! I <3 U! *Hugs*" You get to know if they're interested in you by the way their eyes smolder and they move into your space and their voice takes on a richer timber, instead of "Wanna cybersex?"
The sadder part is that we're trying to replace something that has vanished in the past twenty to thirty years in real life. Community. I've seen it so many times where someone has an issue and they suddenly have all the Internet in an uproar over them. And a lot of these people have never met. Ever. It's wonderful to see it but, at the same time, it's sad. It says we have to reach out to a bunch of strangers for support in our times of trouble. Strangers even though we know you had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch and have a secret crush on the person in the next cubicle.
I'm not saying that this stuff is all bad. Like I said before, LJ and sites like it are a brain dump. Kinda like the Pensieve in the Harry Potter books. They let you see life from another's point of view. Reading through these sites gives your mind another path to walk and another perspective to see. If you've got an open mind, it's a wonderful place to visit. And even if you don't have an open mind, it just might open it for you due to the fact you have to deal with repercussions of not having an open mind. But you should never let it replace the things that real life can give you. The touch of a hand. The sound of a voice. A smile and a wave from your neighbor when you're both out mowing the lawn or shoveling the snow. (And quite possibly a helping hand.) A real hug and a kiss. Or a nice long chat about what's been happening since the last time we saw each other.
On the up side, I'm seeing what some of the people I went to school with are doing with their lives now. On the down side, I keep getting hit with little gadgets that make you acknowledge that you're giving them access to your info. It's stressful from a IT/personal security point of view. Because of that, I'm probably never gonna do Twitter. "Hee, I'm taking a shit!" "Hee, I'm done shitting!" "Dude, I just gorged myself til I almost puked!" "I'm going to work now." "I'm back." I think I'll pass.
In a way, I don't understand the need for the constant updates on your life. What do you have to talk about when you meet in real life?
"Guess what happened to me today?"
"I know."
"And last week,..."
"I know."
"Oh!"
[chirpchirpchirp]
"Ooo! I gotta send out a tweet cause this soooo embarrassing!"
"Yeah! Me too!"
[taptaptaptap]
Eventually, people aren't going to feel the need to meet with anyone. You're gonna know before hand what they're thinking, what they've done and how many times their S.O. has pissed them off. There will be no catching up to do. Instant knowledge of who's done what all zapped to your portable device of choice. Everyone wandering around and laughing or crying or yelling without any visible outside physical source for the emotions. Every person becoming an island unto themselves except for the tiny lines of text that connect them. Welcome to the digital community, digital world, digital reality.
Which really sucks in a way. It's a lonely way to live. You get to know a lot about people by the way their voice sounds, the way their face moves, the way they hold their body. You get know if they're really embarrassed because they're blushing and stammering vs. "OMG, I'm sooooo embarrassed! *@_@*" (Or something along that line.) You get to know that they care about you because they perk up and their voice gets brighter when you come up to them, instead of "Oh, you're so interesting! I <3 U! *Hugs*" You get to know if they're interested in you by the way their eyes smolder and they move into your space and their voice takes on a richer timber, instead of "Wanna cybersex?"
The sadder part is that we're trying to replace something that has vanished in the past twenty to thirty years in real life. Community. I've seen it so many times where someone has an issue and they suddenly have all the Internet in an uproar over them. And a lot of these people have never met. Ever. It's wonderful to see it but, at the same time, it's sad. It says we have to reach out to a bunch of strangers for support in our times of trouble. Strangers even though we know you had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch and have a secret crush on the person in the next cubicle.
I'm not saying that this stuff is all bad. Like I said before, LJ and sites like it are a brain dump. Kinda like the Pensieve in the Harry Potter books. They let you see life from another's point of view. Reading through these sites gives your mind another path to walk and another perspective to see. If you've got an open mind, it's a wonderful place to visit. And even if you don't have an open mind, it just might open it for you due to the fact you have to deal with repercussions of not having an open mind. But you should never let it replace the things that real life can give you. The touch of a hand. The sound of a voice. A smile and a wave from your neighbor when you're both out mowing the lawn or shoveling the snow. (And quite possibly a helping hand.) A real hug and a kiss. Or a nice long chat about what's been happening since the last time we saw each other.