That's the cover story of this week's New York Magazine. Kind of got me to thinking... Ok, I will say this- I have not read the article yet. So, I am not going to comment or critique on how I feel about adults trying to define a generation that they don't really understand, or about old technology doing the job of the new blah blah blah McLuhan blah blah blah Locke blah blah digital age. I'm focusing on my writing this semester, not media theory, so I digress. Plus, I can't stand when people use rumor and conjecture to refute hearsay, so I'm just going to go with some of the ideas it sparked.
Why do I have a blog? I don't know. Because passive aggression lives on the internet. Because I hope that I'm cool enough that a couple of people who don't get to see me all the time like to keep up with what's going on in my life, or at least what I'm writing right now. Because as much as it makes me cringe, there's something cool about going back and looking at what I was thinking 6 months to 8 years ago and quite frankly, I'm running out of space in my bookshelves for notebooks. I am pretty proud of myself for not deleting my old livejournal and still having that as evidence of how insane I was when I was 20. Hopefully, this will serve some similar purpose when the punchline hits.
How have blogs affected the way we communicate? ALOT. I remember this one time that a friend in college was having a fight with a girl he was seeing, and she asked if they could move the conversation to AIM because she'd feel more comfortable... WTF. Also, that Freshman era story has recently been featured on Jon's blog as well. I think we may both give too much consideration to modes of communication. But no, I think that communication is important. And not just in that cliche, trust, communication, and respect do a healthy relationship make part (though I think that's probably only a cliche because it's true)... but I'm really fascinated with how emerging technology changes interpersonal relationships. I know that I'm much more passive. I know that I don't seize the moment as much because I half assume I can kind anyone I need to on myspace. I study up on people before I ask them out. I am an internet stalker.
Lastly, I think that its interesting that communicating through mediums like text messaging, emails, facebook and myspace comments, and instant messaging has kind of eliminated the need for beginnings, middles, and ends. I mean, maybe I have studied creative and dramatic writing too much, but people, this is basic. There are three parts- beginning, middle, and end- it's very simple. A beginning is usually something like a greeting- hello, how are you, hey, whats up, yo... any of these will do. Then the middle can be any array of things that both parties want to engage in conversation about. Could be making plans to hang out later, maybe catching up on something you missed, just bullshitting because you don't actually have the time to see each other in person. Here's the important part: when the conversation ends, there should be a conclusion. Something like: alright, well I gotta go, or i'm on my way out the door, i'll talk to you later, i'm out, see ya... or something to that effect. Similarly, if you happen to accidentally implied your availability, but cannot actually engage in conversation, one of these farewells works as well. Like, hey sorry I can't talk right now, or something like that.
I think it is very strange that with our dependence on media for communication, it is a lot easier to seek out physical human companionship. You have people on call via your keyboard, why make plans to see them in the flesh? (maybe because its much more entertaining and engaging). Also, I don't think I talk to PEOPLE as much anymore. So some of you will have to suffice with this. I'm going to go have dinner with a real person.
ADDENDUM: I have been waking up each morning this week to email updates from the hospital about my Uncle's recovery from his heart transplant. That has to make it much more easy for my Uncle who's keeping post at the hospital, and much less tedious than a phone treem, but we're all still in the loop. So, there's a check in the plus column.
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