Before the worldwide advent of computers, the internet, social networking, etc, the average human being would have 30% negative thought processes throughout the day. That's not too bad really. I mean you stub your toe and curse- that counts. Someone cuts you off on the way to work and you indulge in minor road rage- that counts. 30% pretty much covers 'eventful' negativity, I think; those little things that happen and are reacted to but (hopefully) don't have a lasting effect on you. That was 40 or 50 years ago, 30%. Now, in 2012, the average human being has 60% negative thought processes through out the day. That would seem to cover 'eventful' negativity and... what? As I said, I haven't seen the actual study. I don't know what the 'answers' are, but I got to thinking about it and it could be a couple different aspects.
What about all those people who's thoughts are being streamed to you live via Facebook and MySpace and Twitter? When you see that the movie star you follow on Twitter is have a $30,000 spa day while you slave away at a normal job does that really make you feel good? Or positive? I have many friends with different thoughts and beliefs who are in my Circles and Feeds... Mostly, we met under a common recreational flag on a specifically topical site. Now, I see everything they think, feel and believe for themselves personally. I'm exposed to things directly opposite to my own feelings through simple association without trying. A difference of creed or opinion is no reason to cease being someone's friend but before all the internet networking stuff you would have had to decide to join that person in the (to you) irksome activity in order to get irked. Now, you experience it in the comfort of your own home with no warning or choice. Also, when someone you're connected to shares a negative thought and you read it- does that count? Do you register their negativity in your own score column? Those points are largely incidental. Then there's also the fact that if someone actually wants to piss you off they don't even have to get you on the phone or be brave to your face. They can drop a comment somewhere and three hours later you're seething over it with no outlet for retaliation but to comment back and stew in your negative juices while you wait for reply (which-if it comes- will probably just tick you off more.)
Another thing, a less personal and more generalized idea, is that with texting and typing as primary communication we lose the personality of the words. Without voice inflection, tone and facial expression to draw from simple statements are so much more open to interpretation and less likely to be understood properly. That's for people who come from where you come from, but the internet is a global forum. Factor in those speaking your language as a second or third language and then you've got a whole other level of potential misunderstanding to play around with. When we have no idea what the person typing the words is actually feeling, sounding, or looking like I think we would tend to apply our own feelings to them. So, if you're in a snit from something else and an abstract comment is there that could be taken two or three different ways you will probably not take it as harmless and cheerful, but as sarcastic or attacking (if those are valid options for interpretation).
All that being said, have I banished the beast called Facebook from my life? No. *hangs head in shame* But I do try to keep my time there recreational and fun, or promotional and cheerful rather than letting it be a sounding board for my life. If I'm having a crap day, I generally try to stay away from the on-line social venues because I don't think anyone really wants to listen to me whine and moan about this or that. I'm sure they have their own things to bitch about and they'll be doing it in rare form to friends and whoever else cares to read it in those places- another reason I stay away when I'm down. I don't need extra hash marks when I already know I'm in a snit myself. I guess, I just think that while it's great to have that outlet as a touchstone for loved ones and friends... I don't think it's a good thing to be involved in Every aspect of the psyches of all of them. Social networking has given us insane amounts of quantity and effectively robbed us of the ability to pick and choose for quality. The bad flows with the good regardless of what we would choose to see otherwise. That's it for my social networking tirade.
Everything else... it just seems like the 'easier' things get for us via technology the easier we want them and the less likely we are to be satisfied with what we have. I have a favorite quote that says...
"Only people with no purpose are unhappy" - Cassandra Clare
The more machines do the work for us, the less purpose we have as a people- except to make the machines even better so that we can do yet even less for ourselves. I'm 37 so I've watched all this develop. I remember when you had to flip the tape in the car stereo. I remember when you had to do the math on your own. I remember when you had to learn to write in print And cursive in school and god-forbid you had to write with a pen on paper instead of an iPad. Overall... I think that additional loss of 30% positivity is from loss of responsibility, loss of sense of self, loss of purpose due to our growing dependence on the machines. I'm sure I'm not the first to say it, but this is my formal reply. If an EMP disable all electricity on this planet could we survive without going ape-shit and killing each other in a panic? Probably not, because our children come out of the womb with cell phones attached to their heads and get computer literacy training in kindergarten. If we don't teach them any better they will never have their own purpose apart from texting one handed in their pockets and knowing what the latest update on Facebook is. That's my opinion, anyway.
The other morning I went out to run to the store (in my car) but the sun was shining, the sky was dotted with white cotton candy and birds were singing so I walked instead. I didn't have a single negative thought on that walk. I smiled the whole way while my car sat waiting for when I actually needed it. Pick and choose your tools and joys, my friends. The simpler non-mechanical ones are generally better, bigger, and more reliable.
