Facebook Reflections

Today I was considering facebook, and what it has done for us. ...More accurately, what has facebook done for me? The answer is: NOTHING. For me, facebook results in--ironically--less face-to-face interaction and more depression and envy at the seemingly glamorous lives everyone is leading. The truth is, the way we present ourselves on facebook is completely idealized, and for the most part, an incredibly inaccurate portrayal of who we really are as people. It's unfortunate, but at this point kind of unavoidable. I'm not getting rid of facebook, I'm just trying to keep these things in mind before I go comparing my life to anyone else's. Also, I love stalking you through your photos, and I'm not about to give that up. Haha. Anyway. One other thing that keeps drawing my attention lately is the kinds of things people say when they're trying to stir up controversy. Some favorites are political and economical opinion, obama-bashing, conspiracy theories, passive-aggressive posts clearly targeted at someone specific but not named to give the illusion of generality, and gun rights.

Since when did facebook--a social networking site--become the platform for rants? An interesting idea, for sure. My best guess is that we're trying so hard to portray a very specific and unique vision of ourselves that we feel it necessary to outrage others in order to stand out. It's no longer adequate to simply be as we are...we have to keep posting more and more sensationalized material in order to feel like an individual. Definitely strange.

Also, I would like to mention that the two most controversial things I have ever posted about are...

Mangos

and

The importance of education, especially as an American woman.

Both were met with varying degrees of outrage.

Also, also, any time I have ever posted about famine, drought, food scarcity in developing countries, or public policy concerning any of these, I'm fairly certain there has only been one person to notice or care: Morgan.

In conclusion, we are incredibly, incredibly self-absorbed. Every one of us. Surprised? Me neither. I'm working on this myself.