Oh, don't blame us. We're just human.




*No fancy pics. Just my inner thoughts unleashed. Spare yourself! ;p





I came across an article this week, covering a recent study. The study was one of those studies that showcased social networking's effect on our society today. Now, when I read through these studies I myself take a step back and completely agree on how they've come about their conclusions. That's just what happened with this research.


A whole 4 1/2 sentences in and I haven't even filled you guys in on the specifics of the study. Please excuse me. The study showed how misconstrued our views on each others lives are, when viewing each others lives through social networks. I have a tendency on repeating myself in an explanation so please, excuse me once more, as I give you a better example.



So you're surfing (or what I like to call "lurking") through facebook one dull insominiatic night, when you stumble upon a new album on your news feed, uploaded by an old friend. An old friend, a humble plain Jane perhaps. Well, since you guys knew each other at one point, maybe you'd like to take a quick gander at this new album and go on a mini tour into your old friends recent lifestyle. The gander turns into an absorption as you click away picture after picture. Link after link. And as you flip through this pixelated photo album, you begin to subconsciously create a lifestyle review based on your friends new album. And boy, does she look happy. Constant smiling, hugging, fun, dancing, peace signs,  drinks, posing and OH who's THAT guy? From the looks of it, your old friend is doing quite well. Very well actually. One thing leads to another and your curiosity has taken ahold as you find yourself lurking through other albums. Profile pictures perhaps? Ah yes, the good old profile pictures.  And lets not forget those ever-so-telling status updates. 



As assuming as we all are, you come to a subconscious conclusion of what a fantastic life your old plain Jane of a friend is living now. And as human as we all are, we intuitively compare this life to our own. Oh, don't blame us, we're just humans. And for some odd reason, our perfectly/moderately healthy, happy lives just don't seem all that interesting anymore. You may even go back and check out your own profile. Almost as if you are reviewing yourself. Funny thing, how we review ourselves.



And so I go back to this study I mentioned priorly. Our views on each others lives are greatly exaggerated when seen through the multi-pixelated screen. This exaggerated view can be a positive one as it can be negative one. A pictures worth a thousand words, but through the internet we seem to up its value by 450%+. Our imaginations run amok wether we like it or not, and this right here is a wonderfully dangerous thing. For as human beings, we subconsciously compare everything to ourselves. Compare ourselves to what could be an incredibly inaccurate assumption one made within seconds. A comparison that can lead us to a cynical view on our own lives, which can then lead to thousands of unnecessarily negative feelings about ones self.  Jeez never thought facebook could be so sobering! Almost like a coke high... you're sky high when you're on it, but come crashing HARD down down down. And no, I have never done coke. I don't even drink coke.


I was just happy a couple of researchers shed some light on this.







I don't usually write these types of posts anymore. The ones where I ramble on and on, exercising my inner intellects, just typing away without grammatical hesitation. Just releasing my thoughts. I don't do many of these because it seems to me that my blog has become less and less personal. And as grateful as I am for every single person that comes across stephiesosexy.com , every click is another piece to the uniform. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this shit. It's a hobby I am so grateful I anointed. A hobby that has surprisingly opened doors for me and who knows, might open up a few more. But I have filtered my content, almost without even realizing it. And yet, I still need one of these ramble-ramble posts now and then. I think my last one was when Amy Winehouse passed. That was difficult for me, but I found comfort blogging about it. Funny.





I doubt anyone will read all of this. 

And yet I ask myself, did I even write this with the intention of it to be read?

4 comments:

Edwin Reyes said...

your interpretation of the reality of social networking are just the corner stone, u just unlocked a diamond in the ruff...

but those pixels u refer to after careful consideration pushed me to drastically eliminate my web presence...

to many distant acquaintance confidently believed they could sum up my life...

S.S.S said...

I'm very appreciative of the time you took to read my random ramblings. And am even more flattered that its pushed you in some way. It's a big step but i hear once you're past, theres no looking back at the social network swamp ;)

Thank again!

Ilitch Peters said...

social networking is a powerful tool... it connects us to the world in ways we could have never imagined. for all the wonderful things that social networking have to offer, there has been disconnect with what should be sacred. although its good to speak a bit from personal experience on the web for others to see...

people have lost the art of keeping truly personal and damaging things to themselves. when we do well and make great strides in life, all can see it and praise it, and conversely when you fall on the floor or deal with personal problems , you can become the talk of the month, and be reduced to feeling like your a celebrity being slammed by the press.

thats why i call the internet a "necessary evil". it has its great use, but we have to learn to pull away from it when necessary. somethings you go through life are meant to be processed by yourself, or in the company of trusted people. for example, when i deal with personal issues (which i have very recently) i decided to disconnect from the net and deal with people in person. it may seem fake to some, but seriously before we had social networking how else did we deal with life?


so in closing, (well not really lol) i guess we should treat the real world and cyberspace like to separate universes.... because metaphorically speaking they are just that. so while we should adopt this new age of social networking and technology, we should keep the unwritten rules we create for ourselves when dealing with life inside and outside of the net.

sorry for the rant Steph (*^_^*)

-defianttilldeath-

"are we really slaves to gravity?
have we been robbed of all the
essence that is above us? come
with me. we shall find this power
of nature and overcome it. let me
show you how beautiful it is to be free."

-defy-

Bella said...

I really liked this post Steph! I think it's very true that we do review ourselves, and our friends.. and inevitable compare our lives. Recently I compared myself with a friend but not online, but at an event. It made me depressed, and I don't know why I did that, but I shouldn't have compared myself.

You should write more posts like this! Check out my blog if you haven't already, I tagged you on this post: http://www.datelessndallas.com/2011/10/blogger-award.html