Antisocial

Not that long ago I decided to cut down on the number of information threads I used to follow. This has proven to be the right decision. I stopped chasing my inbox, have more time to concentrate and think and do some productive stuff. And I do not feel uninformed at all (although I may be...). The information vortex is a trap I think I have escaped. At least for the time being. Enjoying the reclaimed moments of life I have noticed my attitude to Facebook has been changing too. I had considered it fun before. But yes, this was back in 2007. While fun, it has been somehow shallow. The network of my connections has been quite weak. Sure I have followed many friends but I noticed it has never really been close to real meetings, even a phone call.

On Facebook, you really do not pay too much attention to what others are doing. You pretend to. Oh how nice it is to get many likes when you say something silly or controversial. But what do the likes really mean? People who like your posts, do this for a nanosecond and then they run forward forgetting even they clicked something. I admit I have been doing the same. Lots of meaningless noise in the end. Many wasted moments.

Facebook seems to be the the ultimate place for content snicking. A piece here, a piece there. We are no longer able to concentrate on an article a few paragraphs long, not to mention a book. Many trends amplify such behavior, tablets being another group of devices actually dissolving our attention. We can do so many things using tablets. Can spend hours or days clicking and touching. And they multitask, helping us shuffling incoming and outgoing information torrents. But again, attention and value gets diminished. I would even say tablets do not make us more productive. Along comes down the quality of our time being spent.

The problem is, being in the vortex, we do not see it spinning and sucking us down the hole faster and faster. But judging from my own experience, one day each of us will get tired, overloaded, will realize this situation and will pull the brakes. That said, I predict the value of Facebook has just peaked. The fall will neither be fast nor dramatic, as there is still a huge number of people about to discover the Facebook. But I clearly see many simply tired or just having enough for the day and leaving the party.

So yes, it is time to look for the next rising star. My bets? Not very precise at the moment. Perhaps something bringing us more real experience, telecoupling our brains and senses in more direct manner, improving the quality of emotional interaction and engagement?