I was considering going back to flumpbook in January. It's been two years now. Perhaps naively, I imagined that the world would have grown up in that time.
Not if recent events are to be believed.
There are lots of reasons I abandoned it. One was that I saw two friends taking chunks out of each other and using all kinds of awful words to do so. The argument erupted as comment after comment appeared, each more bilious than the last.
I had had enough of weeping into my laptop so I shut the lid and quietly left the room while they slugged it out.
These things draw others in as well - peacemakers and stirrers alike, people who simply have to say something. I realised a long time ago that this was not the best medium for me to say anything at all, and resolved to keep as far out of the line of fire as I possibly could.
I began resisting: using all my willpower not to type something glib or something pompous, but to remain silent in the face of that hefty temptation. I channelled all my shock and outrage, all my hilarity and agreement into complete neutrality, where I could not be injured, applauded, or worse, 'liked' for my own gratification.
In any case, I reasoned, face-to-face friendship will always trump impenetrable and misleading snippets on a website. I quickly disengaged from being a silent observer and decided to spend my time on healthier pursuits.
I don't miss it. There have been a few events that I've been invited to and haven't known about, and one or two cryptic references I've not understood. But I very rarely feel left out of the world. I'm very happy to leave things I don't know about in the World of the Things I Don't Know About. Those things, if they're important enough, will come to me when the time is right.
Why would I want to go back then? As far as I gather, it's much the same: self-branding, politics, gossip, people's dinners, kids-do-the-funniest-things, stupid videos, hyper-intense religious debate, wordy criticism of just about everyone you can think of, and subversive advertising.
I suppose I just wanted to say hello to people I haven't seen in a while, who've probably concluded that I'm a hermit. However, even that beautiful reconnection with lovely people I miss would have to go hand-in-hand with the rest of the garbage.
I don't know what I will do in January. I might delete my profile, I might... um... what's the word... is it still... 'unfriend' a load of people I haven't talked to in two years? I might just do nothing at all. In some ways, flunkbook has always expected a kind of all-or-nothing allegiance, right from the beginning. I remember days when it was literally the first thing I looked at every morning.
Whatever I decide to do, I'm not going back to that. I really think I'm better off without it.
No comments:
Post a Comment