One of the things I like about this blog is that it gives me a chance to get away from Facebook when I write. Facebook is the refrigerator of the Internet. You open it a million times a day and stare into it hungrily, finding only yesterday's leftovers.
There's also something scary about the "Timeline" feature. It implies that we're in this Facebook thing for the long haul. Is this what the future holds for the human race? Changing our relationship statuses the second when we get married, adding kids to the "family" area the way we'd add pegs to the little plastic cars in The Game of Life--and then what? We check in at the Pearly Gates?
When I scroll all the way down my Timeline I find my birthdate, accompanied by "Allie Gunther was born." Okay, nice. Next update: "Allie Gunther joined Facebook", which apparently was the moment my life began really and truly. And from thereon in, Facebook is the play-by-play record of my existence. It tells when I went to a party or met a new friend, whether I really want it to or not. Anyone can see it. And Facebook is utterly confident that I'll never leave. It seems to be just licking its lips for the day it can write "RIP Allie Gunther." I have only a fleeting mortal existence, but Facebook gives the smug impression that it's settled itself down for eternity, and that bothers me.
I like the close communication with my friends and family, but it all falls into such a template that intimacy, such as can be gained through email and even online chat, is elusive.
Now, the blog is my own. It doesn't pull knowledge out of my pockets or try to figure anything out for me; it lets me do the thinking. I hope it stays that way.
Oddly enough, the family and I were talking about this just recently. I love the blog format because it is that happy place between personal journal and public magazine. A sort of customizable and publishable book.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you write, Allie. Never stop blogging.
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ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of why traditional blogs, as opposed to the idiocy of so called "social networking" are more essential then ever today. I sometimes wonder who exactly paid who to promote such effective farces as Facebook in order to get people to stop actually writing and thinking. Whoever it was... FaceBook and the other social networking tools have effectively reduced authentic discussion of the common man to a minimum. It was effective because "social networking" appeals more to individual vanity then lengthier discussion, discourse, fact checking, history and debate. It allows the human's need for social interaction to be satisfied without the danger of thinking too much.
ReplyDeleteKeep blogging Allie! You will raise the level of discourse.
IJM Bob Fox
Wow--you Foxes are the greatest! Seriously, thank you both so much for your kind comments. They mean a lot to me.
ReplyDelete