I just read an article in the NY Times Style Section (after I read the real news, of course) that cracked me up! It is about how we’re getting wayyyy too much information about people’s lives and their goings-on and I, like the author and those quoted in the article, don’t want to hear it anymore. I blame myself, in part, for this obsessive social media situation I’m stuck in. I continue to click through the photos and comments, eye-roll after eye-roll–I even participate occasionally, spending entirely too much time word-smithing my comments to reflect the comic and intelligent Me I want the world to see. It is EXHAUSTING. Like reading fashion magazines then turning a hateful eye on your own wardrobe and personal style because it doesn’t quite compare to the carefully curated pages of Vogue–I look at other people’s photos and status and interests and criticize my own. I was never one of those people who needed a lot of attention so I don’t get it–where is this coming from? I never walked down the hallways of high school wondering if anyone liked me. I don’t repeat self-affirmations in the mirror or throw tantrums shouting ME, ME, ME… Although, I am writing a blog so maybe I want some attention…but now it seems we are required to participate in social media so we constantly compare and compete…and I don’t like it. What’s the point? I appreciate the access we have to our elected officials via the internet, I salute the facebook and twitter campaigns that bring about real change in society BUT the superficial me-ness that Facebook encourages is damaging. A friend once said, (actually I think she posted it as her status on FB–but whatever!) “They should call it Bragbook not Facebook.” I couldn’t agree more.
There is a quote in the article from novelist Laura Zigman that made me laugh, “I had to go on a vacation-photo diet. I had this bizarre, vuoyeristic habit of scrolling through people’s travel photos online and then feeling like, Why haven’t I walked the Great Wall of China?”
RIGHT?!? What’s wrong with a visit to the bathroom? Should I post pictures of my toilet? (ok, too far.) I probably won’t go to India or Phuket or Australia…and THAT’S OK. I think I’m happy to have my adventures and not plaster the evidence on my wall or twitter feed. Most social media interactions are NOT really about sharing and supporting and growing…it’s about bragging. I am realizing that participating in Facebook and most other social media outlets is like having a conversation with someone who isn’t listening to you when you speak, they’re just waiting for their turn to talk AT you…you’re both just shouting at each other, really. Maybe I’m being a little harsh. Maybe I’ll inundate the Facebook newsfeed with photos from my upcoming vacation to make myself feel like an active part of the community… Nah…every time I think about posting an opinion or a picture or a stance I ask myself, WHO CARES? And the answer is, NO one. Everyone should ask themselves that question before hitting “SEND.”
Clearly, I didn’t ask myself before posting this… And ROUND AND ROUND WE GO…
