This is based on several observations. This post is about one of them.
We are in the Age of Oversharing.
Everyone has a camera. A significant population of people are using those cameras. A lot. They record the most routine details of their lives. If anything interesting happens there's almost always someone there with a cell phone. And they post all this to Youtube.
A significant percentage of the population is a member of a social network. They post status updates frequently. Their friends often reply back. And it all happens on a timeline.
A significant percentage of the population has a personal blog. They write about the things that interest them. They write about their highs and lows and give their opinons on just about everything. And it's all recorded and dated.
Whether or not you are in this population generally depends on your age.
If you're a senior citizen, the chances are that if you have a youtube, social network, or blogger account, that it was set up by a younger family member.
If you're just starting to get old, like me, you probably were one of the early adopters of the gadgets and technology which make the age of oversharing possible, but it's not fully integrated into your life.
The upcoming generation was born into it. They're digitally native and it's all a part of the fabric of their reality.
What this trend indicates is that the younger you are the more you're going to be effected by the natural consequences of the Age of Oversharing. But what are these natural consequences of which I speak?
Before I answer that I'm going to tell you a bit about the first stage of 'enlightenment' of esoteric traditions and a couple of widely used techniques at this level. Then I'll answer the question but I'm reasonably sure you'll figure it out before I do.
In esoteric traditions, enlightenment begins by increasing self-awareness as commonly expressed in the slogan "Know Thyself." Self-awareness begins by increasing self-knowledge. One gains self-knowledge by self-observation.
One method is the practice of "mindfulness" which involves being aware of the contents of your mind as you're doing things. This is the direct method of increasing self-awareness.
Another way to gain self-knowledge is by indirect means. Rather than looking directly at yourself, you examine the imprints you leave behind. A good example of the indirect method is keeping a journal and writing in it daily. Journal writing is useful to gain self-knowledge for several reasons but it's most useful for this purpose when the journal is reviewed.
Mindfulness isn't in vogue at the moment, but making an imprint of yourself as you progress through time is. The videos serve the same function as mirrors, but ones that reflect the past self. Social networking sites and personal blogs serve the same function as a journal.
What clued me into this phenomena was something the valedictorian said in her speech at my girlfriend's brother's graduation. She was interested in photography and said that she had taken 25,000 pictures and videos throughout high school and talked about how she would look back at them over the years. After saying that, she turned around towards the graduating class, raised her camera and said "Cheeze!"
While the average graduate this year probably didn't take 25,000 pictures, with the ability to take pictures at will, I have little doubt that they would have taken thousands. Considering this fact made me realize that my generation is probably the last one to experience the "photographic doppelganger effect."
The photographic doppelganger effect happens as a result in the difference between how you think you look and how you actually look. If your my age you know the experience that happens when you see a picture of you that doesn't quite look like you. It's much worse in videos. In a video, your voice doesn't sound like your own and the "you" in the movie moves like someone else.
When I was in high-school, there was no such thing as a digital camera. Camcorders which recorded on VHS were available but were bulky and weren't common. Otherwise, if you wanted to take a picture, you had to buy film, and unless it was a polaroid, you also had to pay to have it developed. The point here is that taking pictures cost money and time and as a result less pictures were taken when my generation was in high school and as a result we saw ourselves on film a mere fraction of what the current generation has.
Sure, they're not intentionally seeking enlightenment, and yes, they're just doing what kids have always done. Except their self-centeredness involves pointing a camera and that's the equivalent of taking a long, hard look at themselves. Increased self-awareness is an unintended, yet natural consequence of that.
As an old fogey I can't begin to fathom how this is going to effect the world. I can only point out that it's happening.
Stay Frosty.
No comments:
Post a Comment