"We Should Grab a Coffee and Not Catch Up"

"I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You"

The ubiquitous world of social media we find ourselves in today can be both charming and nauseating. I can barely keep up with what my close friends have to say online, never mind what acquaintances have to say. What Facebook has essentially become for myself and the few people in my close circle is an extended version of e-mail with photos. I don’t have time to troll the news feed and comment on that photo of your newly sculpted fohawk. I do, however, like the “like” button on Facebook. Brilliant idea to give people the recognition they crave without actually having to say anything at all.

In Clive Thompson's article “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy,” he navigates through the phenomenon that due to  constant updating of Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc., we are engaging in short text-message-like conversations with those we have digitally "friended" – to the point that if and when we meet in person, we simply pick up from where we left off. The issue I have with this point is that most of those quick chat-room style conversations aren't worth their salt when thrown in the context that real, verbal communication demands. Those Instagram-enhanced shots of the sushi you ate last night with your girlfriend are not going to drive the conversation when we meet for coffee next Wednesday, believe me. But Thompson suggests that the little pieces of info about our friends that we gather periodically, create the feeling, when we meet, that we haven’t actually been away from each other, despite the fact that we have.

I guess what it really comes down to is personal choice; how much crap are you going to sling online and how much of others’ are you going to allow grab yours. Any expats like me who follow sports back home and like not knowing scores, are probably in the habit of ignoring social media in crucial moments to avoid the endless number of spoilers online. I rather enjoy those bouts of blackout, where I can focus on things in my immediate reach and forget entirely about what people are gossiping about.

Ultimately, the amount of quality things to read, watch and listen to online are ample enough to drown-out the never-ending stream of self-shots (a.k.a. selfies), pointless Tweets, and promotional garbage that clutter my news feed. Like so many other aspects of life, again, I think the key here is balance.