First of all, I’m really sorry that it has taken me this long to get a post out since I’ve been back from Vegas. I’m still working on my trip report, complete with pics and videos so stay tuned…I should have day one up by tonight or tomorrow. We had a great time and I’m looking forward to sharing the details with you. On another note….something dawned on me this morning that has me confused and a little disturbed. It’s a bit interesting in a very psychological way however disturbing, nonetheless.
I share lots of things on FaceBook. Most of the time I am sharing things that I think are funny and might brighten someone’s day. Sometimes I reply to others intense political rants with a sarcastic remark or just say stuff that is completely….excuse the term….retarded. This is done intentionally with the hopes that I may have made someone smile, even if just once during their day.
However — there are times when I might post something serious…something sad or something disturbing. My reason for this is usually to point out the fragility of life and make others be more thankful of their own blessings rather than take their time on this earth for granted.
Here’s my example: I could post a status update about my dog taking a huge dump on my floor and say something stupid or funny about it….and I will receive tons of likes and replies. On the other hand, I could post something serious about someone’s death or someone being sick in the hospital and it gets ignored completely. I’ve noticed which kinds of posts actually get attention — the random stupid and/or funny ones while the serious ones go unnoticed.
What does this mean? Does this mean that it is human nature to want to ignore such heavy issues and just go about life thinking everything is rainbows and unicorns? Is it so normal to live by the rule “out of sight, out of mind” and be in denial? Are we all so accustomed to and desensitized by stories of sadness that it doesn’t warrant acknowledgement anymore?
I’m not saying that I expect everyone to reply instantly however all of us, as humans need to wake up and smell the coffee. This is the world we live in now…things like this happen and we can’t just go on ignoring it. If someone was laying on the sidewalk dying…would you walk on by? I don’t think I could just close my eyes and forget what I saw. Is reading about something similar online and having the chance to voice your thoughts that much different?
I know that we look to humor and irony to shed light on the way things are today …. I do it all the time. If we dwelled on everything bad that exists, then we might as well dig our own grave, crawl into it and die because there is no escaping it. What am I expecting then when I posts such things on FB? I’m expecting some empathy….empathy, not sympathy…there’s a difference.
Maybe a “like” to let me know you get what I’m saying….that you understand. Maybe a reply to tell others you will pray for the issue at hand or the person who is sick, dying or have died. A reply to acknowledge that you are thankful for the blessings God (or whatever God you believe in) has given to you in this life and that we all take it for granted sometimes. Maybe I’m being too sensitive about this but it certainly is an interesting observation…would you agree? I’m certainly not a Debbie Downer but nobody can deny that this is life and we all need to get over ourselves and accept it.
Ok, I’m done ranting now….fun Vegas trip report to follow this weekend!
Dockfam Adventures 
Some people have a hard time knowing how to knowledge a sad or disturbing post. They don’t want to click ‘like’ because in their mind it’s like saying they approve of the sadnes, or pain of the post, when in fact they find it hard to like a post about someone hurting. It’s a strange thing in bloggsville. How does one know what the best thing to do? I try to at least say I feel for the person who is hurting. But I know where you are coming from on this, I really do. People sometimes would rather ignore an uncomfortable post then comment or even ‘like’ it. It is easier done then if a person was face to face with someone.
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You certainly got it right Jackie….i find myself thinking the same things sometimes. I just think it is a really interesting quirk of human nature to ignore things like that in order to avoid the feelings that come with acknowledging it. I guess it’s a form of self preservation.
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especially now a days when there is so many bad things happening. I myself turn away sometimes because it is just overwhelming . So I guess I pick a few I can empathize with and leave the rest. Like you said, for self preservation.
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I’m not overly familiar with facebook, but I know on blogs, if someone I read regularly posts something like that, I’ll leave a comment at least to acknowledge whatever they’ve written about.
Looking forward to the Vegas post!
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Oh, and here’s another blogger’s take on Vegas that you might get a kick out of.
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I love this — hilarious and oh so true — except for the tap water part — that has me a little nervous because I did actually drink some water out of my hotel room faucet….wonder what sort of disease I have now??
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Not sure. As long as it’s not the one that leads you to garbage cans to-… nevermind…
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Glad you are back home safe and had a good time. Now as for your rant…just one of many, many things I do not like about FB. Hugs
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I agree with you…lots of people prefer to blind eye to problems and “heavy” stuff. But it’s a part of life, not everything can be funny. I do agree with the first commenter too though, regarding likes. If someone on FB posts about someone’s death, it seems kind of odd to “like” that. A comment would be more appreciated in that case. 😉 Glad Vegas was a fun time.
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I get it
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It’s so interesting because I find that I get the equal amount of comments and likes no matter what my status is (my friends are chatty bastards) but I find the WAY they respond is much different. If I post something funny about wishing I could jump off of a bridge to avoid going to work, people are like, “Ha, ha! YAY!” If I post something less morbid, but on a more serious note, people send me messages wondering if I’m suicidal. I try not to overthink it, and just assume that something got lost in translation.
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I think there are those that …as you say like the silly or funny posts or comment we put online…and they are probably in the majority…But I find that again there are those that do respond to a serious issue such as maybe one that make us feel that they are empathetic….but alas they are probably less in numbers….In some cases people maybe don’t know how to respond and don’t feel that it’s right to ‘like’ something that is serious ??? Just a thought….Diane
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Glad you are back home!!! Hope my paw crossing was helpful in Vegas ;o))))
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“Does this mean that it is human nature to want to ignore such heavy issues and just go about life thinking everything is rainbows and unicorns?”
I think for many, that’s exactly what it means. We’re losing our ability to think long, deep,meaningful thoughts. You’re noticing that because you’re not one of those whose brains are slowing becoming a disused organ. So many people live in a world that is (to me) unbelievably shallow and ephemeral. As you say, there’s nothing wrong with humor and some mental junk food… so long as that’s not your only diet. For some, their minds do the equivalent of eating every meal at McDonald’s.
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“For some, their minds do the equivalent of eating every meal at McDonald’s.” that’s a great analogy and so true!
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