Sunday, October 20, 2013

Some thoughts on social media, bullying, and how it has disconnected us from what is [ supposedly] real in society

From Bill Moyers Show on PBS' KRWG 22 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA. From the book by Sherry Turkle: Alone Together; available on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Alone-Together-Expect-Technology-Other/dp/0465031463 . Some thoughts from somebody who was truly a socially inept "loser" and thought Dale Carnegie's Book should have been titled How to Kiss Ass in order to Win Friends and Influence People. 

On his show, he's interviewing a woman writer and professor named Sherry Turkle. One who just published a book titled Alone Together. In her book, she states that social media has made people believe that they need to put down the social media and spend more time actually interacting with others in person. However, the way I'm interpreting it, some of the shit she is saying makes sense; while much of it, in particular how kids/teens now turn to social media on their smartphones as a way to connect to those they are interested in during some boring as shit holiday dinner with family, goes against what I believe.

Anyway,my first reaction was this. From a Facebook Post, by the way. "Like what the fuck, I'm sure? ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO BACK TO PRETENDING TO BE THE FUCKING WALTON'S ON TV? Speaking for myself, that NEVER EXISTED for me! Then again, maybe this was what my sister meant when she said that, as a child and teen, I never learned how to show EMPATHY toward others? Truthfully, I found family dinners to be lame, especially after my overly-critical father started his bullshit about how I "Didn't know how to act right when we were with company". LIKE I SAID, THERE WAS NO WALTON'S MOUNTAIN SENSE OF " SHANGRI-LA" IN MY FAMILY! Just Dad being an asshole as usual , and Grandma Gebbia making things more tolerable when she " treated" us kids/teens to as much red Italian Wine as we wanted!!! 

I went on to describe those " happy" memories of holidays with the family, in the days before social media made the bullshit far easier to swallow for kids and teenagers. 
  • The minute Dad started his shit, when we all were at my family's house, I'd 

    walk the fuck out into the garage,hit the damn garage door opener; at 

    which time I'd take out my bicycle [now stewed on that wine!] and ride up 

    and down Tulip Ave. Playing a game I called " Drunk driver" as I ran over 

    Big Wheels and rammed doll carriages belonging to every bully living on my 

    street in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York!!  Great way to make 

    Thanksfucking and Shitsmas more tolerable with family!!

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