06 Apr Yeezus! Can Someone Please Turn Down the Volume on This Thing!?
It’s a little after Noon on a Wednesday. The desert air smells of spring, but already feels heavy, like summer. I’ve checked my Facebook page twice since waking (just kidding, 14 times). I’ve decided to keep relatively quiet today. Aside from the super cute nautical ensemble I chose to wear this morning, I don’t have much else to tell the world. I’m actually really, really happy today…but no one wants to hear about that crap.
For me, finding the perfect balance between over-sharing and vanishing into the dark hole that was once MySpace has been purely trial and error (unfortunately, most of my “errors” between the ages of 22 and 26 are now well documented via Google “images”). As a salesperson, and self-proclaimed attention whore, I understand the personal and professional importance of social media: validation, referral business, videos of dogs doing cute human-like things to brighten your day. I “like” it.
But I feel like it’s been getting a little loud lately.
Social media has given us countless soapboxes upon which we can stand and preach/vent about everything from politics to breastfeeding (and politicians who like to be breastfed). Maybe you’re not on social media to vent OR preach, maybe you’re just like “screw it, I want to post a pic of my side boob and see how many likes it gets”. Fortunately, social media has created a space where you too can be seen/heard.
Back in ye olde times, if you had something to say you sent a messenger pigeon or one of your most trusted peasants to deliver the message. You really thought that shit through before “hitting send”. Fast forward to Kanye West’s VMA rant, Kim Kardashian’s naked bathroom selfie(s), Donald Trump doing literally everything Donald Trump does. It’s like, Shhhhhhh. Quiet.
So, I guess what my little Dan heart begs to know is this—in a society that thrives on instant gratification and self-promotion, how do we effectively manage our “volume”? I’m still working on turning mine down a bit, so bear with me. How do we get heard without having to be so loud? And more importantly, what do we choose to keep quiet about? Does a good deed still warm the heart if it’s not tweeted about (#sofortunate)? I hope it does.
Let’s agree to be more thoughtful with our words. Let’s continue to be loud when we’re really passionate about something, but to also see the value in being quiet once in a while.
p.s- I made a decision to stop posting pictures of my avocado toast a couple of months back, and I can personally confirm that it still tastes the same, if not better 😉
– “Create Luck”