Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
“things you may or may not know about me”
The “things you may or may not know about me” is making
the rounds on Facebook again. For the past few days, I've been composing lists
in my head of things that people actually don’t know about me. Well, things
that most people don’t know. I did post a list of items on FB, but it
wasn't that good. I tapped it out on my phone while sitting in a bar, so it
took me forever and I kinda got bored with it, plus I was being incredibly rude
by ignoring my partner as he kept trying to carry on a conversation with me as
I was typing away.
All of this self-indulgent list sharing has gotten me
thinking about how none of us really know one another (whoa. such a novel idea).
I don’t mean this in an ironic existential way…i.e. in the age of social media and endless
posts about ourselves, we (still) don’t really know anything about one another.
What I’m getting at is that the information we choose to divulge on Facebook,
Twitter, G+, etc. doesn't bring any of us closer to understanding anything of
substance about each other. Actually, if I were to take the words, “of
substance” out of the previous sentence, then that might hit the mark closer to
what I’m trying to say; substance is irrelevant.
To think about it in reverse, I have learned things about
people in their FB lists that have moved me emotionally, and I was surprised by my reaction. It’s
akin to, “Well, you think you know someone and then they go and….” I like being
surprised, because, I rarely am. Perhaps this is something about me that you
didn't already know; regardless, I am certain that you still don’t understand
me. But, we might be a little closer to obtaining mutual appreciation.
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