I’ve taken a step back from social media recently, including
this blog.
Think about a woman or man you find particularly attractive.
You see them every once in a while. Part of the appeal is the mystery of who
they are, everything about them that you don’t already know. The fun of getting
to know a new romantic partner is learning about their interests, their
hobbies, their quirks, and their beliefs. Over time, this morphs into even the
smallest details, from the way she stirs scrambled eggs with a spatula to the
way he clears his throat every time he’s about to say something sarcastic. The
mystery can go as deep as you want it to, but the relationship often thrives on
that mystery. As time goes on, the surprises wane, but there’s no mistaking
their role in falling in love.
If you were allowed to follow a potential romantic partner
around via live video feed, twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week,
observing and evaluating them, and becoming acquainted with even the minutest
detail of their daily behaviors, it’s unlikely that any such partner would pass
the test. The mystery would be removed before it ever served its purpose. It
would no longer inspire conversation. Rather than bother asking anyone about
themselves, you’d simply tune in to the video feed and answer the question
yourself, through direct observation. You might even come to believe that you
know that person in a superior way than you would have if you had relied on
face-to-face conversation and personal interaction.
In this way, the always-on world of social media plays
itself out to boredom. But it need not be this way. You could uninstall
Facebook and go back to asking people what they’re up to when you see them. The
mystery would return. You’d pass the time in conversation, rather than in
observation. This won’t cure all social ills, of course, but it will help you
retain the value of really sitting down and talking to someone.
There is an element of this in my relationship to my blog,
too. Early on, the blog helped me organize and catalog my thoughts. This was
important when my thoughts needed better organization. It produced a rather
extensive personal philosophy, which I refined over the course of ten years,
and which I have implemented in my own life. It helped me keep track of
important running- and fitness-related ideas that I could refer back to later. It
even inspired me to conduct some formal research in pursuit of serious
knowledge.
Now, though, I’m familiar with my thoughts and my ideas.
They’re still evolving, but much less needs to be stated explicitly. These days
I am more apt to apply existing principles than develop new ones to handle new
situations. So the value of explication is much lower, and as a result of that,
I’ve discovered that I’d much rather do
than say. I’d rather be out there,
exercising, running, playing music, playing with my daughter, having a good and
fulfilling life. I don’t really want to waste time talking about it, I want to
live it.
Maybe I’m just older, and I see more value in carpe diem than in carpe dictum. Or maybe I’m finally getting comfortable with myself
and no longer feel the need to justify every thought and action. Or maybe I’ve
been running a blog without a real audience for ten years and have better
things to do than figure out how to SEO my way into libertarian super-stardom.
Who knows? The point is, I’m not here. I’m out there.