In my "rounds" through peoples pages/profiles on various social networking sites, including a frightening trip to You Tube, I've found that only a couple of types of personalities really belong on such sites. This of course is my opinion, but then, it is the one I value the most. I'm sure many will disagree with me, but honestly, I just don't care. While many misguided souls wander and write aimlessly, there are a couple that actually have a purpose and this medium is tailor made for them:
- Friends and Family Networking: An absolutely great use of the medium and possibly the original one intended by those who created MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo 360, and others. Of course, the real reason they were all created was to make money, but somewhere back in their rationalization for why this would be good for society, that might have been their reasoning. So....those of you who keep in touch with loved ones far away, good for you. Still, the following group is just the one that would make me leery of ever posting pictures of my family and especially my kids online.....they would be the
- Pedophiles: Despicable people. The scum of the earth. Yet these vehicles are the perfect forum for them to troll for victims. Unfortunately with so many teens and even younger making their world a virtual one vs. the one many of us grew up in, where you were forced to make your way among real people these kids have now taken refuge in a world where they can be what they are not, popular. AND, completely available for the online perverts that lurk out there. BUT, you have to at least appreciate their tenacity. They're single minded and relentless. Is it their fault that the creators of these wonderful "communities" built NO real safeguards into their code? Such is the world of commerce before all!
These two groups being spiked out, leads me to my newest group of annoying internet losers. The YouTuber's. Now YouTube is a fascinating place. Its great for watching music videos and funny commercials. What has shocked me is how we now have made "stars" out of people videoing themselves. The only thing more unfortunate is that the public at large loves this stuff. It's the typical appetite of the mundane and mediocre that drives the country it seems. After all, for centuries large groups have checked their own intellect at the door and followed people like Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao, and Jim Jones. The fact that they'd flock to the moronic world of YouTube. Though.....they are only half the problem.
No, the real targets of my vitriol are those who make these ludicrous things. One that has caught my recent attention is a rabid football fan whose team just won the Superbowl. He and some other losers even have a "club" and make lame trash talking videos. Its kind of sweet. Sort of like the old Little Rascals club, "The He Man Woman Haters Club". There are many similarities I'm sure.
- Guys who can't score hang with each other amusing themselves with their expertise on sports. (Yes, they have SO much more knowledge than the rest of us).
- They have a "uniform". They all get to wear their team "gear". How cute.
- AND, lastly....THEY think everyone wants to be THEM!
Well, watching these things I was left stunned. Here's a grown man, video taping himself, rambling on and on and on.....Oh and get this....he's explaining why he looks so bad...(which he completely does) is because he's been up ALL NIGHT on something called Stickam.
You have to ask yourself, "What causes a grown man to spend his non working waking hours stuck behind a computer screen, checked out of life?" Well, if you saw this guy, you'd probably understand. I won't say anymore at the risk of seeming like a total jerk, as opposed to the significant jerk I am.
So.....is this what the trend in "living" is going to become? Retreat into a world of no touch, no proximity, no dynamic interaction? Just an online ID? Just a face poorly video'd and stuck into the frame of your screen frighteningly so.
I don't understand it. Of course, I've been criticized for spending time following all this stupidity. That's the typical response I get when people find what I'm writing about upsetting. Well, for me, as it is with many of you "normal" internet participants this is a diversion, nothing more. The life I have is busy and productive. But....it is entertaining to see what people will do when they feel they are anonymous. And....I will say....they have NOT let me down, because given the opportunity to act without impunity, the majority will behave poorly.......
Like the saying goes, Reputation is what you do when people are watching, Character is reflected in what you do when no one is looking, or possibly when you think no one knows you.......
Hey.....but those of you out there making complete idiots of yourselves.....please don't stop doing what you're doing.....I'm truly entertained by you. There's nothing better than watching you make fools of yourselves so openly and willingly. Especially those of you who take yourselves so seriously. It just couldn't be funnier.
As always.......I AM
the
Blog Avenger
