JennyK on Facebook – An-island-among-many-is-still-an-island – A reflection

Island surrounded by water.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

An island among many is still an island

jennyK on Facebook, a reflection.

Seems to me, the larger the ocean of web gets, the farther apart the islands of community drift.

The more places there are to visit, the less time we have for each place we find. Spindly bridges are built to connect isolated places of paradise, somewhere that could be utopia, to the crowded cold and strictly paved parking lots they call “Like”.

Why do we crowd in cities that, in the best case scenario, will connect us with those we may form friendships with, and in worst case, alienate us from those who truly care and those who have things to say that might make a difference.

Why do we need to be “liked” to matter?
Why do we need to be “friends” with people we don’t know, and wouldn’t want to meet, wouldn’t write an email to, or call on the phone? Is that not the kind of “friends” that crowd your Facebook friend list? Honestly?
Why do we need some enormous community machine to tell us we are worth something?

Because what happens if noone has the time, or enough incentive to click on your needy like request, if noone has the time to look at your uploaded image? Do you feel compelled to “share”, “share”, and “share” again, until you feel confirmed as being truly “Liked”?

Facebook is not human. Facebook friends are not real friends.
Your total “Like” count does NOT make you better, prettier, funnier, more popular, or in truth any more likeable.

So why do we fall into that trap?

Facebook is a tool but do we know how to use it? I think not. Sometimes I feel that Facebook is a monster, a disservice to humanity. Maybe that’s a bit harsh but here is how I see it:

Facebook makes us less, not more. It may be that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The whole, in the case of Facebook, may be great and vast, but it sure as hell isn’t remotely similar to the individual human beings its made up of. They disappear in the many.

Disclaimer:
My opinion on social networks change monthly so this blog is always tagged for editing. It will never be done, just like Facebooks policies.

jennyK.

Looking for needles – Navigating the online – A reflection.

Spiderweb close-up
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Looking for needles

Navigating the online – A reflection.

By jenny K Brennan

I look for needles in arrays of…

What?

Was there ever a pattern?
Did I have it all queued correctly at one point, or was that only what I was told?
When creating the bookmark, the to-do list, the reminder, the play list.
Pixilated troops shove me.
Toward tables of hasty content

Irritated, frustrated, powerless, cleverly manipulated.
Voluntarily bending over.

I negotiate untaught patterns,
While sidestepping road signs,
Obscuring whatever view there might have been.

They block my avatar from posting correctly.
My questions.

Overload.

Overload.

You shout “Find your way!”
But you second guess me,
Say you believe in me,
And ten thousand others,
Just as unique as me.
How lucky must I not be?

You annoy me.
You irritate me.
You advice me to be what I would never be.

Banners, directions, arrows, commands
You block my view but insist on intruding.

For my sake?
I don’t think so.

I don’t remember…

…privacy.

Cluttered avenues, Nested paths, numbered maps.
No road in sight.
Spiders inspect streams; analyze virtually everywhere I’ve been.
On demand.

For my well-being?
I don’t think so

Bugs. Everywhere bugs.
I see no life

Words, everywhere words.
I see no plot

Where is the synopsis, the cover letter, the correct format, the author bio?

On facebook?

I don’t think so