That title will need the following eight paragraphs to unravel its potency on you, and hopefully you will profit from your having read that far.
I deleted my accounts on two major and rival social network platforms, this time, I hope for good, and, out of sound faith in my reasons for doing so.
In some fleeting moments of clarity one is aware of a sort of cognitive discomfort where, when you know you have got nothing to do with your time, you desperately seek to plug the discomfort by doing something, just any damn thing, in the misplaced hope that the given activity brings some relief from the pain of boredom; only in retrospect does it dawn that the activity was meaningless and distracting. An example from a previous era hits the point home: elderly gentlemen would read the day's newspaper over and over again, all the while muttering,
"there is nothing new in the newspaper today."
Their hope of being relieved of their boredom was repeatedly belied. That same trait is at work- with some significant differences - when one connects to the social network: seeking relief from the desperation of boredom. The rest of this post is about those differences.
What is new is the sophisticated flippancy in the expression of a dull and draining phenomenon of boredom. You are accorded a plus, a like, a re-share or a recommendation-a very ego gratifying harvest for a produce from the field of boredom- on most of your posts, for somewhere in your connections is another bored person who is seeking to be relieved of his or her boredom under an unstated quid pro quo (mutual back scratching). By and by you are addicted to your daily dose of the likes and pluses- you cant spend a sane quarter of an hour without checking if any of your posts, pluses and likes garnered add-on likes or pluses. This is just the basic; there are geeks who specialize in assisting you to spread your posting skills far and wide if you are willing to spend money. What can be more neurotic than this propagation of neuroticism.
I wouldn't have become so opposed to the social networking but for the realization this does not stop at this mass-approved expression of neuroticism.So then why have I become anti social network? The answer is simple: it gives you a false sense of contribution, a sense of work, a false sense of purpose, a cause, even a sense of care; and yet, you do not really champion any of these in real life terms; you only delude yourself. Why so? Because when you or someone 'likes' a post- his or yours- you are not contributing to anything more than a short-lived ego massage. Surprisingly, you don't find anything wrong in it because the others are also deluding themselves at the same time. So you stay put on the bandwagon. By and by there comes a stage when you forget that you are deluding yourself. The hubris of an illusionary meaningful presence and effectiveness on the network builds up steadily while you, sadly and as if in an inebriated state, lose contact with those who are your real loved ones and best friends in the physical realm around you.
There is a further dangerous extension to this delusion: not only you don't change anyone's life for the better as a result of all your wise or touching posts which, in most cases, are anyway second-hand, but you also don't realize that with each of these posts, likes, shares, pluses, and so on, you are miring yourself deeper into an addictive activity with no nobler purpose other than to keep you glued to the net for other peoples' profit. You don't realize that you are being harmed, a harm in the guise of something good being offered- while the powers behind the network are profiting and you are contributing to their profits willy nilly, more willy than nilly.
These powers are profiting from your idleness, from your failure to realize that in indulging on the social network you are changing your life for the worse, while you think that you are gainfully using it for your entertainment and- what a grand delusion- for others' betterment, through your posts. What con of a con!
Some people may argue that no one forces you to join a network, and even after you join, you can always draw a line. The nature of the network is such that it sucks you in like a whirlpool- there is no line to be drawn once you have crossed the line. You think that once on the network you are using it for your purposes, while in reality you are steadily enslaved and robbed of your most precious asset: your time. That time which you could spend far more beneficially on real world activities and actual people you most love, with very tangible benefits to both you and the ones you spend time with. Now, that would be a worthy cause.
I will not share this on any social network because I no longer belong to one. However, I do want to be effective in stopping at least some more individuals from getting harmed. Thus you may pass it on meaningfully, hopefully outside of a social network, should you too want to save one more human being from being eternally deluded- again hoping that you have already deleted your social network account- for your own good- before passing this on.
I deleted my accounts on two major and rival social network platforms, this time, I hope for good, and, out of sound faith in my reasons for doing so.
In some fleeting moments of clarity one is aware of a sort of cognitive discomfort where, when you know you have got nothing to do with your time, you desperately seek to plug the discomfort by doing something, just any damn thing, in the misplaced hope that the given activity brings some relief from the pain of boredom; only in retrospect does it dawn that the activity was meaningless and distracting. An example from a previous era hits the point home: elderly gentlemen would read the day's newspaper over and over again, all the while muttering,
"there is nothing new in the newspaper today."
Their hope of being relieved of their boredom was repeatedly belied. That same trait is at work- with some significant differences - when one connects to the social network: seeking relief from the desperation of boredom. The rest of this post is about those differences.
What is new is the sophisticated flippancy in the expression of a dull and draining phenomenon of boredom. You are accorded a plus, a like, a re-share or a recommendation-a very ego gratifying harvest for a produce from the field of boredom- on most of your posts, for somewhere in your connections is another bored person who is seeking to be relieved of his or her boredom under an unstated quid pro quo (mutual back scratching). By and by you are addicted to your daily dose of the likes and pluses- you cant spend a sane quarter of an hour without checking if any of your posts, pluses and likes garnered add-on likes or pluses. This is just the basic; there are geeks who specialize in assisting you to spread your posting skills far and wide if you are willing to spend money. What can be more neurotic than this propagation of neuroticism.
I wouldn't have become so opposed to the social networking but for the realization this does not stop at this mass-approved expression of neuroticism.So then why have I become anti social network? The answer is simple: it gives you a false sense of contribution, a sense of work, a false sense of purpose, a cause, even a sense of care; and yet, you do not really champion any of these in real life terms; you only delude yourself. Why so? Because when you or someone 'likes' a post- his or yours- you are not contributing to anything more than a short-lived ego massage. Surprisingly, you don't find anything wrong in it because the others are also deluding themselves at the same time. So you stay put on the bandwagon. By and by there comes a stage when you forget that you are deluding yourself. The hubris of an illusionary meaningful presence and effectiveness on the network builds up steadily while you, sadly and as if in an inebriated state, lose contact with those who are your real loved ones and best friends in the physical realm around you.
There is a further dangerous extension to this delusion: not only you don't change anyone's life for the better as a result of all your wise or touching posts which, in most cases, are anyway second-hand, but you also don't realize that with each of these posts, likes, shares, pluses, and so on, you are miring yourself deeper into an addictive activity with no nobler purpose other than to keep you glued to the net for other peoples' profit. You don't realize that you are being harmed, a harm in the guise of something good being offered- while the powers behind the network are profiting and you are contributing to their profits willy nilly, more willy than nilly.
These powers are profiting from your idleness, from your failure to realize that in indulging on the social network you are changing your life for the worse, while you think that you are gainfully using it for your entertainment and- what a grand delusion- for others' betterment, through your posts. What con of a con!
Some people may argue that no one forces you to join a network, and even after you join, you can always draw a line. The nature of the network is such that it sucks you in like a whirlpool- there is no line to be drawn once you have crossed the line. You think that once on the network you are using it for your purposes, while in reality you are steadily enslaved and robbed of your most precious asset: your time. That time which you could spend far more beneficially on real world activities and actual people you most love, with very tangible benefits to both you and the ones you spend time with. Now, that would be a worthy cause.
I will not share this on any social network because I no longer belong to one. However, I do want to be effective in stopping at least some more individuals from getting harmed. Thus you may pass it on meaningfully, hopefully outside of a social network, should you too want to save one more human being from being eternally deluded- again hoping that you have already deleted your social network account- for your own good- before passing this on.
3 comments:
આપડે ત્યાં એક કેહવત છે -- મોણ નાખો એવો લોટ બંધાય.
On these very networks there is an opportunity to learn, to grow and interact-- depends on how you use it. On Twitter you can build lists, on FB and g+ you can join specialist groups--how to use a tool, whether to address boredom or invest time productively-- that is a call you have to take.
My humble opinion.
@ austere
Yes, you have a point;and it is well taken.
I will rest at what I have written about the use of these networks without adding any further points or arguments. To each his/her own....opinion be granted as appropriate.
Thank you for commenting.
At least someone read the post- outside the network!
I partially agree to what you say Tushar bhai, but partially disagree too! :)
You know I am associated with wildlife conservation activities and believe me, before FB I was unable to know people and spread word and after FB that is so easily possible for me to know what they are doing at Delhi and to let them know what I am doing in Gujarat.
Its always the way you take, I feel.
yes, we must keep brakes in our hands, FB or any other such network should not drag us to any unproductive work (again, what I feel unproductive may be productive for u!)but if we are aware about what and how we are using these platforms, there is no harm.
But nicely written and worth giving a thought..
keep writing!
Love,
Dhaivat
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