Introspection

It never ceases to amaze me, as humans, the sheer amount of information we fire off on a weekly, daily, hourly basis.

We Facebook and Myspace and Twitter. We YouTube and blog and instant message. Many of us are in a near-constant state of connectivity thanks to portable devices and wireless networks.

And yet, for all of this, how much do we really say? How much of what we shoot off into electronic space is real communication? In utilizing all these massive sources of information, are we simply creating a shield behind which we can hide and only reveal exactly what we want other people to see? Are we lulling ourselves into a false sense of security so thick that, when one of us chooses to reveal something a little more personal, a little more serious, a little more adamant...no one can handle it? Have we opened the door to a forum that requires us to constantly pretend, or otherwise be ripped apart by our peers--or worse, by people we don't even know?

By using these ways to "connect", have we simply exacerbated an existing problem? Have we amplified the flaws in our species ability to communicate?

I wonder all these things when I look at the electronic community at large, but then I think of sites like Ravelry, and of networks like the knitting blog community. I marvel at the way people of so many different backgrounds, religions, political affiliations, etc., etc., can suddenly push all of that aside--push aside the things that so regularly tear people apart--and become one truly caring community. I'm continually amazed how one common denominator, one shared hobby, can unite people as different as night and day.

And I wonder...why can't it always be like that, with all people?

Mood: conflicted
Music: Mutemath - Spotlight