I went on an Instagram rant the other day; stopped only to make the illustration you see above, and then continued back on the rant. I wanted to codify some of the ramblings, because I think I had something somewhat cohesive to say. I find that my specific generation (Generation Dial-Up) has had a difficult time coming into adulthood with social media. It seems as though part of our maturation happened without the ever-present technology, but the other half was imbued with it. Everything from dating to shopping has been dramatically changed. Some would say that dating has become shopping, and shopping is about self-courtship. We now are confronted with the daily images of what strangers, friends and foes alike, experience. Is it worthwhile?
I saw the film, Being John Malkovich, when I was in my early teens. Anybody who saw that film, written brilliantly by Charlie Kaufman, had to have been floored. It has many levels to it. Even the movie-set for the film, which include a half floor in a building the story takes place on, indicate the absurd levels to life itself. Identity, experience and individuality are all subject to question in the film. The basic plot of involves people who stumble upon a portal, that when entered, leads you into the mind of the actor, John Malkovich. For the kids reading this blog, do yourself a favor and watch the film A.S.A.P.
I can’t help but think of the social media advent as said portal. We all willingly let people into our minds with cameras, sounds, hopes, dreams and fears. I can experience part of what my friend Gary does from his work truck within the same town; I can go along for the ride as my friends Jaime and Humberto open up their first MMA school in Brooklyn; I can even partly experience Ireland through a friend I made (that I’ve never met) outside Dublin. Now, the question you probably raised as I said this was how did you experience any of these things? That’s a valid question. I don’t mean to be postmodern and break down what truth is. I don’t mean to equate my lived experience with the visual slideshows of social media users. There is a clear distinction of individuals living their lives, but these lives over lap with other sentient beings. So, lives meld into each other. I only try to suggest that the very nature of this technology is one of a portal into the lives of people. I don’t know how often I dive into Instagram to search for stories. I wonder how much time I give myself to explore the caverns of my own mind… how much time do I spend spelunking into your head?
With my blog and Instagram any of you can have a pretty concise idea of my existence. I don’t know how true the postings are of others. People mainly show the glamour. They don’t show the horrors that lie beneath the surface. So, I may not get to witness you ordering bath towels on the phone, like Malkovich did in the film. I do get to witness what you eat, where you go and whom you do things with. That sure is a lot. We all give each other entry into our very being. I’m partly concerned that we aren’t mourning the loss of privacy. It has died, but we are distracted by a show of fire works. My generation saw the night sky before it was lit up with chromatic explosions. The younger kids out there only know the spectacle, and will never know the blanket of darkness and isolation.
Yes, we have portals into each other’s minds. We can partly experience the lives of anybody on any continent. Yes, we’re seven billion John Malkovich’s. The more we live as bystanders witnessing the lives of others we stop our own living. I just posted waves at the beach. I allowed you entry into my portal and then faded away. I did not witness the beach through the camera. When I dive into your portals my own life goes on standby, but you too become prisoner when I enter.
The days of individuals seem to be antiquated. Groupthink, social media, countless portals and a loss of the moment are the new norm. So, things change; doe that mean it’s always bad? It isn’t always bad, but it certainly should force us to stop and think. We haven’t mourned the death of privacy; we haven’t sat shivah for isolation; we haven’t taken a moment to witness that the world has changed forever, and now the major infrastructure being built is a highway of our very minds.