Life is not a perfectly-scored, tear-conjuring succession of events one after another; yet we almost can’t bear the fact that it’s not.
So we fill the gaps in time with entertainment, with forms of escape; anything to avoid confrontation with the regular. In doing so we push away any future instance of true achievement. We forget to embrace the majesty of every living moment no matter how mundane. Surrounded by the infinite, still we wait for the spectacular to come to us! We hold onto this idea that observing such instances should somehow inspire ours to take shape. The saddest part is that this isn’t how we’ve naturally evolved to live and act. It’s how we’ve been told to exist by the very social networks that sustain us.
If nothing particularly exciting is happening, we clamor to participate in the highlights of others’ lives. If not to affirm via a binary system of affirmation, then to observe. We go back and forth between second and third screens to most efficiently intake information, to remain stimulated. Every share-worthy post or article or opinion exists as stimulation, but in another light; an interruption in the flow of whatever we may choose to create.
Observation’s not quite enough, so we tell ourselves that at some point the lens shall flip around and focus on us. We’ll get retweeted, we’ll match with that beautiful somebody on Tinder, we’ll be venerated for our words or imagery; some meta-version of ourselves will earn that highlight. We’ll climb the social hierarchy and gain influence in the future evermore.
We chase the temporary highs of virtual ego-boosts, short-lived enough to remind us of the virtual lows which stream by without end. For every positive for one is a negative for many when the disparity becomes clear. All the while we’ve forgotten what it was we were looking for, or worse, what we were trying to build ourselves.
Advancing technology and connectedness has it’s place as a tool; but it can never replace real social interaction or achievement. A real-life period of stagnation can never be filled by a virtual high anyways. We must learn to accept the place in between highlights and work our way ahead, lest we doom ourselves to build an endless bridge to nowhere filled with bad mortar.
Originally posted on Medium - March 8, 2014