Went over to Live Journal for some reason. It was pretty much the ghost town I expected. There are a few of my old friends who still actually post entries there. A couple of old LJ icon groups are still pumping out icons, which is weird to me. I went to a few friends pages. Most havent posted anything in years. All those old entries are still there, though. Its a bizarre look into the past at people pouring out their thoughts. LJ was so different than Facebook. FB is like this trashed post-apocalyptic aftermath by comparison. Back in the LJ days, people took the time to put their thoughts into words. To be introspective. I dunno, maybe that was just my experience because of the friends I had there. But they would write and youd get a window into their brains, into their souls. It was easier to feel connected to a person youd never even met because they opened right up. People wrote in multiple paragraphs. In several installments. You got ongoing updates of peoples lives and their journeys. You watched them learn and change and, in a way, lived their experiences. You could tell which friends and family gave a shit about you because theyd be the ones who bothered to take the time to read. I dont remember people being so ignorant there, either. The dumb conspiracy theories. The awful grammar. Again, maybe I was just lucky. But it seemed like there was substance. It seems like these days, you really have to dig through the debris to find something meaningful. Thats a good word for it. Debris. Like after a natural disaster. Maybe a part of it is accessibility. Ten, twelve years ago, not everyone we knew was online for much except for Ebay or to look at cartoon dancing hamsters. Now, just about everyone you meet has a Facebook account, regardless of their level of literacy. Filters and blocks help. Im guilty of contributing to the debris, too. No one really cares that Im at McDonalds or watching The Following. I try to contribute something thoughtful or challenging sometimes. Or just something to make someone smile. I have friends on Facebook I cherish. People Ive never met or have only met briefly. People that I havent seen in years because our paths have taken us in different directions. Friendships that mean a lot to me. So, I dont mean to be a total downer about it. Theres value there. Its just different.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:57:41 +0000
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