Nobody asked me, but … (#51)
OK, I’ll admit it. I just don’t get the fascination with Facebook and Twitter. If that officially makes me an old fart, so be it. But I just can’t figure out why people want to know that someone else has a headache today, or that they are in the midst of some mundane activity that is so non-essential that there is time to tell anyone interested exactly what it is that they are doing. Have we become that narcissistic that we believe people care about that stuff? Does it make a headache any less painful to share news of it with acquaintances in cyberspace, so that someone else can reply, “Poor baby. How about an electronic hug (or an electronic aspirin)?” Like I said, I just don’t get it.
It was probably a couple of years ago that my college-age daughter convinced me to open a Facebook account. It allowed me a peek into her world, one that, on balance, was rather disturbing at times. I added one or two other “friends,” but they really didn’t seem any more interested in sharing details of their private lives than I was. So what are we gaining? Then, recently, someone else became Facebook-ized – a person that I know and whose friendship I value. So I added that individual, and then several others. Most, thankfully, remain quiet, and I really don’t see the gain in visiting their pages, except when there are pictures to view (I do admit to liking that aspect).
However, one “friend” feels the need to share her physical and mental state every day. You know, if I wanted to be a psychoanalyst and help people deal with their day-to-day lives, I would have gone that route. And I certainly wouldn’t give out any advice for free! Others are not so similarly restrained.
Twitter strikes me as being Facebook-lite. No photo albums, no annoying applications, surveys, etc. Just periodic updates on one’s state of mind or body. And again … who cares? I started to think about what I would have “tweeted” today, if I had an account and nothing better to do …
- 8:00 AM – Just got back from a morning session at the gym. 60 minutes on the treadmill. Just enough time for a quick shower and breakfast.
- 9:00 AM – Made it in to work. Casual Friday means jeans and t-shirt. Pretty hot for jeans, though. And it’s always pretty casual around here anyway.
- 10:00 AM – My tech support shift begins. Fridays are usually pretty quiet in that regard. Maybe it will stay that way.
- 1:00 PM – Heading out to lunch. Sue and I will walk to the Asian Buffet. It’s a bit hot out, but it’s good to stretch after sitting all morning.
- 2:05 PM – Most expensive lunch ever – $60. Cost $10 each for our meals, and the unemployed newly-graduated daughter hit us up for $40 in gas money.
- 4:30 PM – Decided to write another post for the APPX blog. Perhaps about how foolish this all seems. I hope it’s still less than 140 characters …
Well, there you go. Do you feel closer to me now? I know I feel closer to you all. And I left out so much …
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