The Songs are In Your Eyes

One of the aspects of Christmas break that I am always thankful for is the opportunity to simply think. It seems that while school is in session, my thoughts are focused on reading, projects, papers, and friends, but I do not feel as though I have the chance to simply let my mind wander across a myriad of subjects without a specific destination in mind.

I had a conversation with my parents last night that has been rolling around in my head today. It focuses on this question: Why do people today feel the need to be involved in things like Facebook, My Space, Blogs, and other avenues of e-community? If that is even a recognized term.

At first thought, my response is somewhat like George Mallory's when he was asked why anyone would ever want to climb Mount Everest, to which he simply replied, "Because it is there." Often, I think people jump onto these bandwagon events, fads, or social epidemics, as Malcolm Gladwell would describe them, simply because that is what others are doing. This is nothing different from putting your baseball cards in the spokes of your banana-seat Schwinn or buying a Chia-pet. Trends will always continue to take different shapes with different generations.

On the other hand, some would point to the rise of Facebook, My Space, and blogs as the continued separation of American society into tenchonologically autonomous units that connect with each other across the chasm of cyberspace. Such interactions do not seem to be interactions or encounters at all, at least in the traditional sense of the word. They take on a more voyeuristic air. This perception of how technology has affected social interaction is reflected in statements that I have heard from many of my friends describing Facebook as a new form of "online stalking."

To further explore this point, my next question would be this: do people use things like blogs, Facebook, and My Space in order to simply keep up with those whom they would normally never interact with in a typical day? I think that this could be the case to a certain extent. If a young man or woman develops feelings for a certain someone, they can begin to learn about this person in a more detached manner than face to face interaction. The problems and high-level of creepiness present in this type of situation are obviously not superior to more conventional forms of communication.

By in large, I believe that most people use these forms of online networking in order to further connect with those that they are already close to, and to maintain some sort of acquaintance with those that they were once close to. Through an innovation such as Facebook, I have been able to communicate with friends from high school that I would otherwise not be able to keep track of in such a efficient manner. This blog has allowed me an avenue to communicate with people who are both near and far from me while at the same time presenting me with a chance to do one of my favorite things in the world: write.

In conclusion, perhaps that is the answer to my question. People want another avenue to connect with those that they care about and to be heard at the same time. In one form or another, we all want our chance to stand with Walt Whitman and sound our barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world.