I can see that I no longer belong to the "knowers", those of us who know things and understand them and thus are "in". I thought that I would always be one, and that getting old would not suddenly make me become stupid or out of touch. Short, that is, of strokes and Alzheimer's.
I don't get it. Why do people put comments on Facebook or Twitter about minor, uninteresting aspects of their daily lives? Why would they think anyone would care or be surprised to find they are "looking forward to the weekend" or "buying tomatoes at the grocery"? Clearly they are not discussing ideas, and equally clearly they are not describing the events or thoughts that might allow a degree of understanding or support or intimacy. They don't mention the fights they are having with their partner; they don't mention what the doctor found out during the exam. It's cabbages or lunch time or the current tv program.
I am coming to the conclusion that these media are not for the exchange of personal information or for better contact with friends or loved ones. Facebook and Twitter seem to be the container for the noises the tribe or pack make to stay in earshot of each other. The message is not really about the cookout, but really "I'm here, right here", and the rest of the tribe moves about their little clearing feeling reassured. And it's nice, I suppose, to think that others might care that this is true.
Sometimes I wonder if the twittering noises passed up and down our electronic synapses are the beginnings of a group consciousness, a mass mind struggling to become awake, like the random thoughts produced by our brains on the edge of consciousness. Maybe we're on the way to becoming a hive mind. If so, you'll be glad to know I just finished wastering the plants.
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