April 8, 2013

iFriendship isn't quite as good

Look how much we love each other


Hello, everyone. I've all but abandoned this blog, so I guess this post might come as a bit of a shocker to some of you. The truth is, I don't know where else to write the things running through my mind; the Internet has given us the chance to be heard at the cost of having to outshout millions of others. So here I am, whispering, hoping for catharsis more than accolades.

Have you ever felt lost in your own time? Sickened by the beeping of machines, your friends' glazed smiles on Instagram, the redness in your eyes from too much screen time? I know I have. For days, weeks, months, I'm a content teenager lavishing in all our age has to offer. But then, all of a sudden, I look around and realize that I can't tell if I'm awake, or in some twisted dystopian nightmare.

I know this sounds raving mad (probably). But think about it:

How much time do you spend in the real world?

1. When you like something, do you:
a) Share/like it on Facebook;
b) Tweet about it;
c) Write a blog post about it;
d) Tell someone about it, face to face?

2. When it's someone's birthday, do you:
a) Congratulate them on Facebook;
b) Twitter;
с) Instagram;
d) In real life?

3. When you want to talk to a friend, do you:
a) Message them;
b) Text them;
с) Call them;
d) Meet up with them?

If you got mostly d's on this short and simple test, then allow me to congratulate you: you're a full-time resident of the real world. In all other cases... Well, welcome to the Lonely Cyber club.

What's that, you aren't lonely? You have over a thousand friends on Facebook who regularly like your status updates? Oh, yes, I'm sure they're the kind of friends who would stand by you through thick and thin.

You may think I'm rambling on and on, but I do have a point. I guess I just want to ask this:

In the pursuit of easier ways to connect with each other, did we forget about the inital goal?


Today, we can reach a friend across the planet, visit exotic sites without setting foot on foreign soil, discover people with interests similar to ours, all with the click of a mouse. And yet, somehow, these new technologies seem to have pushed us apart, breaking our unity, instead of bringing us closer together. The mere fact that I'm typing these words instead of ranting aloud to a friend proves this, I guess.


I suppose there isn't much more to say. I just wish we could somehow remember the beauty of laughter and fresh grass under our feet, and actually enjoy the moment instead of rushing off to Instagram it.

Yours,
Alice