Social Media: It’s a party out there — I know, this is not news. But…
Some folks are leaving the party, alone.
In the meatime, it’s another popularity playground, fraught with social dangers and opportunities….
Attending parties is not enough …attending the right parties gets you a little closer…to what? the in-crowd I guess? To being seen and heard, which is why people go to parties, right?
A buddy and I have boiled this down to something more basic:
We go to parties so we don’t go home alone…we spend most of our time at parties waiting for one of those moments when the possibility of leaving the party with someone suddenly enters the dynamic. We want “our moments;” we might spend hours and hours doing all kinds of party things, dancing, eating, eating more, making stupid talk with people we think are a waste of time, staring at book collections or music collections (those used to be on display, but not so much anymore?) chasing our primary goal: getting a moment.
Okay, could spin this metaphor, apply it to larger canvases, blah blah blah… but let’s focus on the Big Party Out There…
Are we all trying to get to a high school dance? Everyone out-dressing, out-dancing each other? is this just my own social anxiety rearing its embarrassing head? Sure, we find a few decent conversations, we make even make a few contacts or “friends.” But are we not vulnerable? Frail? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
My interactions in real time with real people are filled with frailty, but online, not so much–the artifice is striking. …The usual conundrum
I like my reality doused with artifice? Care for a drink? Can we leave the party together?
or
Whoops…have I just gotten ostracized from the in-crowd? again?
Rachel LePell 