Yesterday, my mother emails me an article that discusses how FB posts are the “new” way people are sharing links… you know, rather than the ancient technology that is email. After chuckling at the irony of the email from she-who-is-Facebook-less, I re-posted the article on my FB profile immediately after I had finished reading it.
Fast forward to this morning, when a colleague of mine dismissed blogging, FB, YouTube, and digital media as little more than “proof of humanity’s insatiable narcissism.” How did I respond to such an insult?
“Yeah… What’s wrong with a little self-love?”
Yes, we can argue a lot of digital media is about people vying for their 15 minutes of fame. However, I believe our hunger for online sharing indicates that we are a society still longing for validation and the community of others… to feel that we are a part of something. This desire is in no way a recent development; communities like Facebook (where users share their opinions on anything and everything) are no different from the good ol’ days when people sat around campfires swapping stories… except our campfires are computers that should not be used for cooking.
Take for example the booming popularity of “Facebook Quizzes;” electronic personality tests. Ranging from the classics (”What Color are You?”) to the trendy (”Which Twilight Character Are You”), these quizzes provide an electronic window to the soul… OK, maybe just a doggie-door to the ego. Regardless, they can be a fun way for people to better “define” themselves. After taking these quizzes, users then have the option of publicly sharing their results via their profiles. Having personally done this numerous times, I feel the best quizzes are the ones that I and my friends complete collectively and comment on for days afterwards. In short, it’s not just about “know thyself,” but also “know thy pals.”
Therefore, although I am being a narcissist by demanding attention from my friends (I’ll admit it), the true joy of the experience stems from their comments and opinions. After all, there’s nothing wrong with feeling like you’re at the center of someone else’s world, even just for a few minutes.
If the alternative is feeling disconnected and alone, I’ll take my self-centered silliness any day, thank ya’ very much.
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