Notes on Notes
In Notes From My Corner, Em wrote about the stunning unifying powers of the internet. We can connect with strangers as easily as we can connect with loved ones. We can surf chat rooms and websites for information and for connection. We can comment on one another's published thoughts. And we can do it all so quickly.
I started thinking about how the internet is paradoxically connective and isolating. Emailing, surfing for information, IM-ing, etc. are solitary acts. It's a bizarre concept: we can reach out to people with more ease and speed than ever, but actual human contact, one-on-one interaction with eye contact and touches and body language is becoming a bit more infrequent. We are holing up and sitting alone in order to branch out and connect. Strange.
Of course, I've been reading a lot of post-structuralist literary theory about paradoxes and breaking down binary opposites and de-centering structures and all that jazz, so perhaps I'm over-thinking this...
I started thinking about how the internet is paradoxically connective and isolating. Emailing, surfing for information, IM-ing, etc. are solitary acts. It's a bizarre concept: we can reach out to people with more ease and speed than ever, but actual human contact, one-on-one interaction with eye contact and touches and body language is becoming a bit more infrequent. We are holing up and sitting alone in order to branch out and connect. Strange.
Of course, I've been reading a lot of post-structuralist literary theory about paradoxes and breaking down binary opposites and de-centering structures and all that jazz, so perhaps I'm over-thinking this...
Three comments, if I may be allowed...
1. I've tried hard to avoid such things as post-structuralist literary theory but I still see your point. And a good one it is. I'm very shy by nature and can easily allow my online socializing to isolate me from real life socializing. The simplicity, the immediacy, and the anonymity are all seductive. It does take some effort not to fall down that rabbit hole.
2. I applaud your love of The X-Files!
3. As a first time occurance, it was surprising and exciting to see my blog referenced in another blog. Thank you.
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