Thursday Thirteen

1. Few days ago my friend brought me one magazine with an article about blogs. OK it’s nothing new but even though I am thinking about it ever since.
2. First it says things we all know (sort of answer “What is blog?”) and little about history of blogs (Justin Hall is blog-pioneer). And there we can see how blogs can be (and often are) fun and educational and great place to spend some free time … etc.
3. BUT (there is always one “but”) while blog is “meeting place”, place to show yourself, show how funny you are, intelligent, creative etc. experts are warning that blog is actually perfect shortcut toward complete isolation, especially for young population.

4. Blogs (and internet forums) are representing simulation of reality. It reflects enormouscyber sex level of alienation of people in modern society.
5. Birth of blogs is actually consequence of chronic problem in communication. Since we’re communicating less and less in real life we are creating simulation of real contact. 6. Because blog (internet forums) is precisely that, simulation of communication; it is symptom that we have problem, HUGE problem in communication with our surrounding. Because modern society does not encourage closeness but precisely distance; closeness on the distance or distance in closeness.

7. In this delirium in communication where we are holding our computers and mobile phones as if they are crutch without which we cannot walk, closeness and spontaneity have completely vanished.
8. It seems we forgot direct conversation, in cafes, at home, without shelter in a form of monitor and time pause which allows us to think well what would be our response.

9. I do remember my life in prior-computer-era and to be honest I think about it with nostalgia. I guess this will sound strange to majority but I grow up in highly socialized society. 10. Here your neighbor is your best friend. It is person you are seeing every day. And I mean every day; like Englishman are having tea in 5PM here people are having coffee with their neighbors. 11. My mother is having afternoon coffee with her neighbors everyday (not separately but two, three families are circling with the visits), during the summer they are having coffee in the garden, always there is someone who brings cake and in the evening often we are having dinner with our neighbors. Without any special occasion. That is NORMAL behavior here.

kill comp12. For instance I was at my mother’s place last weekend while she’s visiting my grandmother in different part of the country. Of course key of the apartment have her neighbor (another normal thing) who prepared me a dinner so that I don’t be hungry after the trip and naturally tomorrow she invited me on the lunch. During my mother’s trip once other neighbor had (many) guests so they used our apartment for sleeping.
You know these things are very common here and I really, really like that.

13. So if I disappear that means I’m getting my life back! That I’m trying to become once again what people should be – socialized creature!

P.S.
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Edit to add: I’m not against computers (I have blog as well!) but I do finding myself easily give up from some “nature” activity knowing that I’ll kill boredom with the internet. Indeed balance is crucial but that is the hard part. I’m aware of all benefits of internet communication so this TT is sort of generalization of the problem. That means I don’t think here only about blogs (sure there are numerous types: scientific, for professionals in some field, etc. clearly I don’t think about those here) but about time spent in virtual world in general with special accent on virtual comunication. By the way friend who brought me article thinks I became internet addict, which I don’t think but I do admit I’m less socialized then before.