*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?
