I
don't spend that much time on social media, but lately I've been
feeling absolutely inundated with things about
this story.* Sometimes I have a hard time condensing my feelings into a single word, but that is definitely the word for my mental state as of late: inundated. And I'll give you a few more: flooded, overwhelmed, engulfed, overrun, bombarded, DROWNED.
But I know that my current state of mind is not all about that specific blog post (and all of the response posts, and talk show appearances, and parody posts...). I suppose this feeling has been
building gradually over time.
Let me set you up for what I'm about to write by saying this:
In the course of a typical day, there are just so many things to do and so
many things left undone that I lay awake some nights, waiting to black
out, and find myself wondering who will squeegee up the brain matter
when I'm finally discovered in the morning. And I'm not even the busiest
person I know.
Not by a long shot.
And yet, somehow, we still find
the time to allow ourselves to be whipped up into a frenzy about the
virtues or vices of yoga pants (depending on which side of the argument
you fall-- really, there's an argument? About athletic wear?!) or a
Kardashian's naked butt (and EVERYTHING else) splashed all over the internet. Or some very intelligent and educated celebrity's political stance (did we really need to give ANY of these people a mega-phone, Twitter?). Or a million other things that don't impact our lives at all, whatsoever, either directly or indirectly.
WHY?
Why are we
giving these things air-time? We are so evolved that, not only can we
not see past the ends of our own noses, but we can't see past the ends
of anyone else's either.
WAKE UP. There is an entire world out there
beyond Miley Cyrus's latest nude, tongue-wagging escapades, and you're not participating in
it at all. How can any of us expect to affect positive change if we're
so completely bogged down in things that don't matter now and which will
only depreciate in value at a staggering rate over time?
Look around
you--right now, in person; I know it's scary to divert your gaze from
any given device for any amount of time, as you are liable to miss some
earth-shattering tweet from Ashton Kutcher, but you can do it. I believe
in you.
Really look. What's happening? Is there an actual person there in the same space with you? Are you among strangers or friends? Family members? Is there someone you can help? Smile at? Be kind to?
Do something about it.
In this world of instant connection to almost everyone on the face of the planet Earth, where we should be-- if anything-- connected, we have never been more disconnected; from reality, from other people. Today, so much of the human experience is dominated by the transient, the insignificant, the artificial.
NONE of these words are adjectives that I would want applied to a description of me. And yet, as a member of the human race--of the Millennial generation-- I feel they are connected to me by association, however inaccurate they may be on a personal level. This is not okay.
I'm not suggesting that we all go off the grid or burn the technology, because that's not what needs to happen here. What needs to happen is that we need to be mindful of what takes up the majority of our time.
Is it cultivating meaningful relationships with all of the people around us? Is it updating our profile picture so all of our friends don't have time to get sick of the old one? Is it looking for the needs that might exist for those we come into contact with, no matter our level of acquaintance or familiarity with them? Or is it live-tweeting a play-by-play of some disgruntled restaurant patron's "hilarious" feud with their waitress?
What are we doing with our lives? Are we leaving people better than we find them? Are we easing burdens? Are we working diligently and consistently to become the best possible version of ourselves that we can be? Or are we wasting oxygen and data?
Make the conscious decision to make the most of your time and efforts every single day that you're breathing. You don't have to go out and join the Peace Corps. None of these efforts have to be elephantine. Give a compliment. Hold a door. Make eye-contact when you speak to someone; or even just when you're walking past them and happen to lock eyes for an instant.
Have a real-life, honest-to-goodness, human experience.
Let's stop deferring to A-listers to inanely tell us what our opinions should be on political and social issues. Let's stop trying to keep up with people (not to mention keeping them afloat financially with our constant gawking) who are only famous because they've been in sex tapes. Let's stop measuring our worth and the worth of others based on how many followers or likes appear on our newsfeeds. Let's stop volleying passionate, yet completely subjective, writings back and forth over the morality of wearing exercise clothing when you're not exercising.
Bottom line: Stop letting the trivial and ridiculous monopolize your time. It could definitely be more well-spent.
*
Let me be clear by saying that this post is not about whether I agree or disagree with this girl's premise (but I believe you're familiar with this post).
