lumière des étoiles

Our Confessional Culture
2003-09-01 3:01 p.m.

I think the band Devo was right; we are all de-evolving. "Progress" and "Advancements in Technology" seem to be made at the sacrifice of Humanity. Most would argue that we have changed modes of communication rather than eliminated them with technology, but I disagree - technology brings about new ways to further the unhealthy things about American culture that continually plague us: over-indulgence, denial, entitlement, self-pity.

When I started this blog, I saw vast opportunity. As a writer, it was a place to practice, to self-publish. As an educator and cultural critic, it was a place to voice my opinions and interact with a collective of like-minded thinkers. I love the travel writing of boardingpass and traveladdict, for example; knowing that we all read each others' work, with mutual respect and learning in mind, makes me understand why this technology exists.

I remember falling into laziness with this blog, writing less cultural criticism or travel pieces, and more just "about me"; something that truthfully makes me uneasy but that I'm also fascinated by. Most blogs I've read in the last few months (and there have been plenty - think a new book is starting here?) take that shape; the "about me" shape - and why? Perhaps as a way to communicate to our family and friends, but I think there's a deeper reason - to communicate to those unknowns who we hope will stumble across our site.

If our 90's Gen-Xers were all about being misunderstood, arguing that no one, not even the other mopeys they were friends with, understood them, and they isolated themselves as much as possible, this turn of the century real world generation is very interested in being seen, in connecting, and in proving to itself that it does indeed have friends and understanding, that it is not a loser like it's big brother/big sister generation so desperately claimed to be.

It's a look-at-me-love-me pattern that we all fall into, and since we see others' "success" on their blogs, we want to produce our own, no matter how imagined or trumped up.

I remember being unable to imagine why people who weren't writers wanted to have sites like this, though, then thought about the Foucault I teach year after year. I thought about power structures and the need to confess to be loved, to believe one is loved, to pursue all methods possible to convince one's self that it is loved and admired, whether true or not. With those conclusions, Foucault only observed the very beginnings of TV talk shows; imagine what he'd see in this. We need a new Foucault. Gay French Philosophers, send letter of interest, Vita, and three references.

The perception of not being alone and the perception of popularity, of having friends, of acceptance and love. That's why we do this, why it's a daily ritual, why more and more we're using this space and this technology as a weapon, as a communicator, as a basis for how we make decisions about who's cool or uncool, who loves us and doesn't. The more we grow in our knowledge of html, the more we grow in our advancements with online communities replacing real communities and online people-networking replacing real people-networking, the less we have the ability to communicate. We dull our intuitions, which function in accordance with others' body language, which we can't see.

It's the seeming excitement about all of these new opportunities that frightens me a bit. For the people who do what they do, where is the hesitancy? Where is the trepidation? Isn't there a need there, a desire to know who you're interacting with? Who you're connecting to, via friendster or some other electronic martini party? How can you vibe someone from an email address? Are you sure you want to be talking to this person? Why the need to connect to as many people as possible? Why not just see who fate or karma brings your way? Is this the newest status symbol? The newest thing to collect? People? Or should I say, bytes and pictures and email addresses? Are you sure you want all this?

Of course there sure, they're getting attention. Safely. Without having to appear vulnerable, to sacrifice, to be empathetic. They remain cool as always, coming out on top, never the loser. They create all of their social environments now with a machine - it's guaranteed success! No difficulty, no more rejection. Everyone loves you, you're a star. And you don't need to be a celebrity to be one - just ask any producer of a reality show.

This technology becomes, for far too many, the newest tool in their passive-aggressive game, or the newest fodder for their already overblown egos. On blogs, they can aim commentary at others without directly stating it in the desperate hopes that the person in question will be reading. Again, no failure, and complete control over a social situation. No need for confrontation, no one getting angry with you or rejecting you.

They can also read themselves into others' blogs, assuming the discussion going on on blog x simply must be about them, since that is all the writer of blog x thinks about. No doubt!

So we'd like to think...since we all have this need to be stars, to be loved, to have widespread acceptance, at least more so than our peers do.

Because, of course, our template is better than theirs.

Didn't Bradbury warn of this? I'm with you, franka, I'm off to an island with my soul-mate to think about this "civilized" culture and retreat from it for a bit.

Just a jumble of ideas, with me floating around in our unbelievably tangled nest of cultural strings. Strange country, eh?

Perhaps most friends I talk to about this are right: it's all in your intentions with technology, and in your use of it; a mis-use of it is indicative of a larger problem which can't really be hidden anyway. I just shudder at anything that further enables the poor emotional or mental health of people who might otherwise somehow learn to be stable.

Please please please let me know what you think of this if you read, i'm very very very ready to discuss this some more.