Feedback, that's what it's all about. Feedback is the "why" of social media. It's the ultimate expression of Charlie Brown opening his mailbox and finding a Christmas card, he does the happy dance with a huge smile on is face and everything is good in the world. You check your email in hopes that you got a response to that post you shared yesterday, or the comment you left in the group you just joined.
To engage and be acknowledged by someone out in the world, even though there's always the slight fear of someone disagreeing with you or dogging you for your opinion or view. "I love kitten videos, doesn't everybody?" You share what you think has value with the hope that others will find it too. It's as if everyone is so needy for recognition because in the real world they're not getting it, there's something missing.
You can hide behind an avatar that idealizes your persona, or use a picture you think shows a part of you that people will like. It hides all the baggage and ugly truth you don't want the world to see and no one will judge you for your past. Then, you can feed it out, inch by inch, to those who you found that show an interest in you. I believe it all started with the voice that said, "You've got mail." It tapped into the Charlie brown in all of us and offered an outlet to those who were stuck in an empty house with no one to play with.
The success of all types of social media is a testament to this truth, even if it's not openly acknowledged by those that develop and market it. They've tapped into something primal in each and every one of us and it's a machine that keeps growing, one cog at a time, but to what end? Where is it going, what are the limits of this ever-expanding thing that we've become a part of?
Has the real world become so unbearable, so ugly that a virtual one is taking the front seat and no one wants to look back and see whats really going on anymore? Just remember one thing, the world in the rear view mirror is the one we created for ourselves, for better or for worse. It's the world that was left to us by our forefathers and is the one we'll leave to our children...
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