Living in the digital age
has become rather vain. I do more than chuckle when people “like” their own
status or photo- Whether it is clicking the like button on Facebook, or the +1
button on Goggle+, or what have you. Sometimes I feel like I need a puke bag on
the side of my laptop. Is the constant need for acceptance so important that we
feel the need to like our own posts on every social networking site? Isn’t it obvious
that you like the new pair of shoes that you just bought? Isn’t it evident that you like the new
picture that you just posted? I’m surprised all of this liking hasn’t crashed a
system or two. Single handedly. By you.
It’s is no wonder that only
60% percent of the population of the United States is on Facebook compared to
the 80% of countries such as Brazil. Facebook still considers the United States
one of the markets that needs to be tapped into. I do not think that it is the
fact that only 60% of Americans are on Facebook, but rather that 20% of the
population has deleted their accounts. There are a few people that I know
personal that have deleted their accounts, and I miss their informative posts
and links. Now that leaves us with 10% of the population that have no idea what
Facebook is, and 10% that think it is a digital book.
The constant rants about
stupid people, started by stupid people, only to be continued by stupid people,
often have made me want to do some spring cleaning. Our social diet is making
us overweight and we often do not get to enjoy the activities that we
participate in, because we are too worried about making that update. But why
are we so vain? Why are we so trapped in
the need for constant attention and not constant enlightenment? The chemical reaction from pushing the like
button on our own content may lead to a social networking overdose.
I like everything that I
post on social networking sites for one reason or another. If not I wouldn’t
have taken the time to post it. I enjoy sharing articles and blogs, pictures of
my family and events that I may have attended, but if you notice I do not “like”
them. You already know that I like them that is why they are being shared. The
like button is like a sticky mouse trap that we laid down on the ground and we
often get stuck on it ourselves.
