Although I grew up entirely without a computer to myself or access to the internet whenever I wanted, it’s hard for me to remember a time when I wasn’t updating my profile. First it was MySpace in high school, and then it became Face book which is a monster all on its own. In the article “The End of Solitude” by William Deresiewicz, he talks about how we are no longer alone. Most importantly, he talks about our need to publicize our lives to others.
I believe this comes from our desire to be celebrities. To be desired and wanted by millions who watch our every move. This want and need to be admired and loved by many can be satisfied with websites such as Face book that allow us to publically portray our lives to hundreds of people. I never really thought about how much I post on my Face book but it makes perfect sense that I do it. It’s virtually the only way for people that I don’t see on a regular basis to know what it going on in my life. I remember a time recently after graduating high school that I started dating someone and changing my relationship status, and for him to change his was just as important as dating them in the first place.
If I remember correctly, I even recall getting into an argument about it with the person because I felt it was so important. I wanted to make sure that everyone who knew us, meaning everyone who was friends with me on Face book knew that we were together. For some reason I needed that validation. This is concrete proof that we, at least most of us, have a desire to publicize our life events, good and bad, to other people.