At some point in the past ten years it became completely acceptable, nay expected, to post everything about your life online. I can’t argue much with this concept since here I am, typing away on a post that will go on a website specifically dedicated to telling everyone my business. At some point this has to reach a level which will be unhealthy for everyone involved (The Internet, not my website, which you should visit). Already I experience a lot of what I deem to be unimportant information being thrown my way by my friends. Let me clarify, I enjoy knowing things about people, but once in a while it would be interesting to learn of these things in person.
Don’t get me wrong, I really think the Internet has gone a long way toward connecting people in ways that were not possible before. Because of those possibilities I know some people that I would never have had the chance of meeting. It just seems to me that the Internet makes things linger when they really shouldn’t. Thanks to Facebook you can find out when that person you broke up with however long ago has moved on, and not only that, you can see vivid, full color pictures of them together. Or you might find out way too much information about someone simply by reading the stuff they post on their status. I think the natural drifting apart of people, especially after they break up, is really hindered by sites like these. Most research shows that you can only have three or four very close friends, and the rest of the world falls into that “I kinda know them” category.
When the term “Facebook Official” came out and I heard it for the first time however many years ago I thought it was laughably cute. Now it really worries me. People build their lives around their connections to other people on the Internet. I don’t need a website to define my life for me, or my status, or any other aspect of who I am. Who you are should define the Internet experience for you, not define who you are on the Internet. Again, please don’t get me wrong and assume that I think any of these websites are evil, I just don’t agree with some of the applications of them I have seen over the last couple of years. Now I better stop talking and go check Facebook…err…what?
Stalk me more at Synaptic Thought.
