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There is an even stranger pull that makes me want to take part. To be part of the group. Yet, I don't share a lot of this information with my best friends or family - so why would I want to share it on an open "social network"?
I did do the one about 25 random things about me. I thought about it for quite a while - what did I want these people to know about me? What was I willing to openly share that people might not already know? I shared juicy tidbits such as the fact that I like romance novels and sci-fi, that cleaning is not my forte, that I have always wanted to be a writer, that I miss being in uniform, etc.
I've thought about doing the others. Yet, I don't want to look stupid - even in front of people I don't really know. For instance, the current one, "How have you changed in the last 20 years?" asks who your best friends were 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 and now. As I have found out recently, the people I may think are my best friends, may just see me as acquaintances. That would be pretty embarrassing if I were to say someone was my best friend and they didn't even remember hanging out with me...then I think, who cares? If that is who I remember hanging out with then who is anyone else to say different? The things I remember, or the way I remember them, aren't necessarily the same, nor do they have to be, as what someone else remembers.
One of the notes I read shows that the person has lived in Richmond their entire lives. On that one fact alone I thought about doing it, just to show that not everyone stays in Richmond - or in KY for that matter. That one can make new friends - maybe not the same kind as people you grew up with, but sometimes they can be even better because they know the person you are now - not just a grown up version of the person you were as a child.
I don't know if I will actually do it on Facebook, but it is sometimes nice to sit and think of those things...what was I doing 20 years ago? What was I doing 10 years ago? Who did I hang out with...? It's nice every once in a while to think back and remember (scrapbooking helps with that...).
I have been doing that, looking back and remembering, quite a bit the last couple days as yesterday was Carrie's birthday. I miss her.
Isn't it interesting that in blogging, we tend to answer much deeper questions and with more explanation behind those answers? The blog post gives a rich insight as to how we think, how we express our feelings and thoughts, and sometimes answers the evasive "why?". The readership of these innermost secrets may be someone we know, or someone who stumbles across our blog through a link to a link to a link.
ReplyDeleteIt is scary to consider how much of our life is out there for the world to see. It is interesting to think back 20 years or so to consider how we interacted with one another: We wrote letters or phoned, and we kept our secrets close within a small number of dear friends. We now lay bare our lives for all to see--around the world, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year--anonymously.
I thought about that as I was blogging - while dicussing what I didn't want to share on Facebook, I was probably sharing even more...though I guess since I currently only have two, essentially hand-picked, "readers" it doesn't make me feel as "exposed"...
ReplyDeleteI have never done one of those "25 things" FB deals because I believe them to be the modern equivalent of the chain letter. They are self-indulgent devices designed to trap people into doing exactly what you are concerned about avoiding. I think your caution is a sign of wisdom, though there is nothing wrong with measured self-indulgence. Likewise, there is nothing wrong with laughing at others indulging themselves... which is what the chain letter guys like to do! :)
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