Publicly Silent.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I've noticed a steep decline in the amount of things I post online. Not as many status versus sharing of posts (mostly pertaining to food), and just a general enjoyment of the things around me, and not the need to post them all over social media.
What a concept.
I've thought about this recently, and I've had to ask myself: Why do people find the need to share every facet of their lives online? What makes sharing every step you take and every drink you make with the masses? What makes it desirable?
I still don't have the answer to that question, but it's shaped how and what I do.... and what I share.
I think anyone who knows me knows that I'm a conservative person. By nature, I'm not loud and out there with my life and what I do. Quite honestly, I don't see the point. Sure, share the major life milestones with everyone, but there isn't really a need to share everything. I feel like those that do like the attention that it brings, but what attention is that really? What does it accomplish? What are you doing with it?
Someone asked me a long time ago why I don't talk about a lot of my life. The problem is that I have and it doesn't fix anything. Sure, getting the bad things in my mind out in the open help to make sense of it all. And yes, sharing things in my life help to establish common ground among friends and acquaintances.
I think a lot of it has to do with trust as well. I've shared the deepest, darkest secrets in my life and have had people betray that trust time and again. These days I don't trust as easily, but when I do find that trust -- and some can attest to this -- I almost shift into a completely different person. No filters are needed.
Back to posting online though, I just don't see the point in posting a long status when I have a blog to write in. I feel like I should keep some things in the bank to talk about and share among friends. It gives us something to discuss and talk about, instead of staring at our phones while we hang out. And also, it provides a nice disconnect from social media, which I think all of us need at times. (My only caveat is Instagram, which is for.... well, reasons.)
I think people should take a step back and focus on the moment in front of people. It does no good to do something good then feel the need to share that with the world. Did you do that good for the good of the person, or the good of all the Likes you'll get on Facebook for it? Did you do that simply for the charity, or the charity of likes and posts about it online?
You get where I'm going?
As I move more into 2016 and my mindset continues to evolve as I'm in my 27th year, what means more to me is having a sit-down conversation with a friend over a beer and talking for hours, instead of scrolling through a Facebook feed. I take phone calls into consideration more so than in the past, as I enjoy that time talking and catching up with someone. For example, I had a 3-hour phone conversation with one of my best friends a couple weeks back; I haven't talked on the phone for THAT LONG since I was in middle school, and even then those conversations weren't about anything significant. This conversation covered so many topics, so many discussion points, and I know the feeling was mutual; it was a great conversation, and I love it.
In a way, I guess I'm publicly silent. It's not as bad of a thing as I thought it would be. I just don't see the point in putting all of me out there. To me, you have to leave something in the reserve to talk about. If all of you is out there and everyone can see it, what does that leave you with to bring up in conversation? To me it just makes more sense, but I could be wrong.
Let's see how 2016 works out. So far it's up and down, but I'm hanging in there.
Carry on, my wayward son.
What a concept.
I've thought about this recently, and I've had to ask myself: Why do people find the need to share every facet of their lives online? What makes sharing every step you take and every drink you make with the masses? What makes it desirable?
I still don't have the answer to that question, but it's shaped how and what I do.... and what I share.
I think anyone who knows me knows that I'm a conservative person. By nature, I'm not loud and out there with my life and what I do. Quite honestly, I don't see the point. Sure, share the major life milestones with everyone, but there isn't really a need to share everything. I feel like those that do like the attention that it brings, but what attention is that really? What does it accomplish? What are you doing with it?
Someone asked me a long time ago why I don't talk about a lot of my life. The problem is that I have and it doesn't fix anything. Sure, getting the bad things in my mind out in the open help to make sense of it all. And yes, sharing things in my life help to establish common ground among friends and acquaintances.
I think a lot of it has to do with trust as well. I've shared the deepest, darkest secrets in my life and have had people betray that trust time and again. These days I don't trust as easily, but when I do find that trust -- and some can attest to this -- I almost shift into a completely different person. No filters are needed.
Back to posting online though, I just don't see the point in posting a long status when I have a blog to write in. I feel like I should keep some things in the bank to talk about and share among friends. It gives us something to discuss and talk about, instead of staring at our phones while we hang out. And also, it provides a nice disconnect from social media, which I think all of us need at times. (My only caveat is Instagram, which is for.... well, reasons.)
I think people should take a step back and focus on the moment in front of people. It does no good to do something good then feel the need to share that with the world. Did you do that good for the good of the person, or the good of all the Likes you'll get on Facebook for it? Did you do that simply for the charity, or the charity of likes and posts about it online?
You get where I'm going?
As I move more into 2016 and my mindset continues to evolve as I'm in my 27th year, what means more to me is having a sit-down conversation with a friend over a beer and talking for hours, instead of scrolling through a Facebook feed. I take phone calls into consideration more so than in the past, as I enjoy that time talking and catching up with someone. For example, I had a 3-hour phone conversation with one of my best friends a couple weeks back; I haven't talked on the phone for THAT LONG since I was in middle school, and even then those conversations weren't about anything significant. This conversation covered so many topics, so many discussion points, and I know the feeling was mutual; it was a great conversation, and I love it.
In a way, I guess I'm publicly silent. It's not as bad of a thing as I thought it would be. I just don't see the point in putting all of me out there. To me, you have to leave something in the reserve to talk about. If all of you is out there and everyone can see it, what does that leave you with to bring up in conversation? To me it just makes more sense, but I could be wrong.
Let's see how 2016 works out. So far it's up and down, but I'm hanging in there.
Carry on, my wayward son.
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