I’m very guilty of living online. I don’t have a lot going on here at the house. It takes serious effort to get out to do anything. When I read about someone flying from Chicago to martyr himself for Palestine by killing a young couple, it’s a wake up call, among other things.
I am an extrovert. I know it’s uncool. My whole life there’s been folks who wished I was introverted. I get something from online that’s missing from the folks I grew up around. There’s a constant newness in tech things and visiting with friends from around the world. But there’s something else.
Smart phones started off being a window to the world. Now? They’re simply mirrors. What does that mean? It means we aren’t looking to enrich ourselves and our minds with all the information handy. We are looking to fortify our own beliefs. There’s so much information available, we can find patterns if we want. It’s called apophenia. Pattern seeking behavior uses and distorts information for the purpose of filling out one’s own suspicions.
Many folks say, “history repeats itself.” The fact is that isn’t true. History is not a cycle, it’s a linear trajectory. Nothing repeats. Human nature may not change, but that’s not the same thing as some of these examples you read of history repeating itself. For example, the nazis in Germany didn’t have internet. They didn’t have X. So, the nazis today aren’t the same. Say it all you want, but the landscape would be totally different today without internet. They aren’t the same nazis.
Apophenia also shows up in the stock market, gambling, church.. People look for meaning, they look for patterns. They’re going to do it, it’s going to happen. It’s important for anyone who has accepted chaos to realize, there are no patterns. Take the plunge for a few days to see how it feels. Try on chaos. Can always go back to believing things if you don’t like it.
When it comes to music, patterns do exist. When it clicks right, there’s real relief. In fact, music without patterns is sometimes used to convey a sense of uneasiness. A good pattern makes me want to play along sometimes. It feels healthy, like exercise. It’s probably what I’m after online, more of that. Instead, chaos.
That’s okay now. But it bothered me for a long time. I think that’s why I gravitated to social media so much. At least in an app, there are rules.
But social media is like a tiny high-school in the world of the big wide web. It’s easy when you got an account and are making posts to fall into thinking everyone can read it, they just don’t. This is not true and is probably the result of the Social Media’s strategy to drive numbers somewhere. See, a post isn’t fighting for recognition in the world. It’s advertising for whomever you’re posting your thoughts on. Took me awhile, but yeah, see, you are working with social media companies by sharing distorted views of the world.
People get shot over that stuff. I’m not into it anymore. I’m working hard to only post things I know to be true here on my site. Same goes with music. If you hear a song of ours, that’s actually us realizing and feeling things, or we don’t let it out the door.
Seeking patterns in music and accepting chaos in real life hardly leaves much time for Social Media. I can guarantee that if you spend loads of time scrolling like I’ve done, you’re not doing it right.
Return to home.
