Friday, September 19, 2014

Social Networking // The Head and the Heart

You all no doubt have some form of social networking, be it MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or any other number of social network accounts. In fact, you probably have accounts on a few (if not all) of these sites. Here’s a question for you, though: Why?
Don’t think I’m attacking you for having social networking. I have an account on many of the current leaders in social networking (my favorite of which is Google+). I just want to know why you have one, because while I do have them, I almost never create original posts. I go to post something and think to myself “Will anyone really care?” I psyche myself out of posting a lot of status updates and Tumblr posts and whatnot. I feel like they’re just too trivial, too insignificant to be a productive use of someone’s feed space. And yet, despite this feeling, I find myself returning frequently to these sites to read what others have posted. Even more shockingly, I find myself writing these posts on a weekly basis when not more than a handful of people really read it, if that. Honestly, not even many of my friends make the time to read these things. (Not because they don’t support me, but because they’re all busy people. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.)
Back on track, though. Why do people find it enjoyable to write a quick blurb on a site like Facebook or Twitter? Is it the social gratification of getting Likes or Retweets or whatnot? Or is it because they enjoy using it as an outlet for their thoughts and activities? Here’s my theory: I think almost everyone in the world just wants to tell someone about their life, about what they’re doing. I think most people want to express their interests to someone who may or may not care. I think humans are innately wired to want to share information about what’s happening to them. I don’t have any scientific evidence for this hypothesis, but I believe it’s the case for most people. While I don’t post to social networking often, I do find myself frequently telling one of my friends about something I did or saw or heard recently, even if they don’t express any interest at all in hearing about it. My flatmates probably hate me for this, but it’s just something I do.
This blog stems from the same desire. I want to share things I like, thoughts I’ve had, and opinions I hold. It’s just in my nature. So when I tell you, as I’m about to, that I love the band The Head and the Heart, and am going to a free concert of theirs tonight, I’m saying this mostly because I just want to tell someone. I want someone to know that I’m doing this, and that I enjoy this band.
The best part is of blogging about my life? I can just say these things that I want to, solely for the reason that I want to. Honestly, I’d be satisfied if even just one person read this blog and found it enjoyable. That being said, the more people who read this, enjoy it, subscribe to it, and even benefit from it, the happier I’ll become. This is going to be one of the few times I say this, but here it goes: if you enjoy this blog, if you find it entertaining at all, please share it with your friends or family. If you want to let me know you enjoy it and give me encouragement, I’d love to hear from you. You can message me on my Google+ account or hit me up on Twitter or Tumblr. Funny how I came back to social networking without even planning it. FULL CIRCLE!

Until next time,

I’m Michael, and this is my life.

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