"Humanity today is like a waking dreamer, caught between the fantasies of sleep and the chaos of the real world. The mind seeks but cannot find the precise place and hour. We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. We thrash about. We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life."
― Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth
What inevitably drives me away from social media is the loud cacophonous ringing of voices yammering non-stop. Well, not audible voices, but noise, just the same. The frantic postingpostingposting of this or that article to warn, enlighten, or shock; the constant updates of everybody and their mamas to keep us all updated on every minute twist and turn of their activities are just loud, irrelevant chatter. The photo-by-photo display-play of our lives as relevant to everyone everywhere seems to satisfy some subconscious narcissistic prodding to put our lives out there for all to see - a kind of unconscious confession. It is difficult to weed out any useful information as information scrolls continually down the Timeline. It is hard to hear any lovely music in this energetic noise because everyone moves with the impulse to share important information. And it is like noisy bells clamoring and desperate. It is difficult to see much of value in social media outlets because everything is there, lying on the newsfeed like so many strewn-over piles of cheap clothes on a department store 'Clearance' table. And now, with the advent of "LIVE" videos, you can receive up-to-the-minute broadcasts of any and everybody doing and saying any and every thing they want to express.
I find it exhausting.
I used to be one of those ones posting furiously. I wanted to make sure people saw the injustices everywhere, took note of the way the so-called system was not living up to our expectations. I wanted to inform and enlighten. Then one day I realized that no one was really listening. At least, not many. And I was expending a lot of effort - for what?
When I got over the shock of that revelation, I asked myself again what I was doing it for. It seemed that everyone was so busy posting that no one was reading. Post an article and people would readily reply to the headline without knowing the substance of the article itself. What was the purpose of that madness?
Social media updates have essentially replaced TV for entertainment. I didn't walk down the street, eat in a restaurant, gather in a social setting without noting how people were not involved with each other, but rather with the artificial intelligence they kept strapped to their bodies.
"For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change." ~Audre Lorde
Again I asked myself, what was the purpose of this madness? Everywhere and anywhere someone was checking Facebook, Tumbling, Vining, Twittering, Snapchatting, or texting. I saw faces glued to their portable screens with more keen interest in what was going on there, than in the real live people sitting with them, or near them.
I still feel startled by just how much this occurs. In fact, it seems worse than when I first noticed. We are caught in a web and don't know it's not good for us. We are trading real human interaction for some kind of cheap fantasy thrill, via technology. In the meantime, we are drawn in and addicted, and the world seems to be going to shit.
Change does not occur outside of ourselves. It is not to be found in technology, or protests (even the lame posting of useless information that serves to act as informing people). Continually posting photos of ourselves, giving status updates (unless perhaps in an emergency situation) does nothing but make us self-important in the wrong kind of way. Keeping up with the keep-up so we don't miss anything, we are sucked more out of our actual lives and plunked down further into fantasy. We are drawn into the imitation of life, and that real life that we are living fades to the backdrop.
"The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers." ― Sydney J. Harris
I don't care how many posts you post about the president, trans/homophobia, racist activity, gender inequities, corruption - nothing in 3D so-called reality is going to change. The appearance of change over the years, is superficial, at best. Your protests, your letters, your leafleting the Internet and streets with action imperatives will not matter. It will not change things but only lend energy to the overall scheme of things. You are still participating in a system that only appears real because your consciousness is focused there.
There is only impotence in drawing attention to the problems of this world. There are no solutions here. I think of the biblical admonition to be in the world but not of the world. I think of the message to resist not evil. Ultimately, the more you participate in the system that exists, the stronger it becomes.
Stop with the screens long enough to reconnect yourself with your surroundings. See and recognize the natural beauty all around you. Remember, that like the trees, you are a part of the natural world. Join forces energetically and spiritually with this earth. More and more people are beginning to wake up and wipe the sleep from their eyes, and their consciousness. Let your actions, words, and thoughts be of the world you want to see. See the old ways dying out (which they are), and ride the wave of potentiality and new possibilities. Let go, let go, let go and join the ever-growing group of those who are elevating their consciousness, and playing out the new realities and scenarios in their real lived lives.
Don't be a sucker. Don't keep giving away your life energy. Re-focus and hold fast to the consciousness of your new conscious creation.
For truly, you are more in charge of your life than you can believe. You are more in charge of your life than you know.
Rise up and out of this routine madness.
Let go.