Rumours of Grace: Giving the small me more space
I confess I got sidetracked by social media
postings this morning. Maybe this happens to
you too. We go online to watch a video for a
course on social work and within 20 seconds
have been diverted into something much different.
After all, what’s the harm in checking
my timeline quickly and responding to the
notifications that seven of my friends have
birthdays today? And who doesn’t need a few
funny videos that others have posted to get
the day started?
However, a status update, 18 likes, 22 videos and 19 minutes later, we still haven’t watched the item our instructor told us to view.
We do spend a lot of time online, and most would agree that our media and communications today are tremendously helpful. Their positive effects are all around us.
On the other hand, we do seem to spend a great deal of time grooming our personal online profiles, connecting with sites that support our views and laughing along with our online tribe. David Brooks, one of the sanest figures in journalism today, describes this as building the “Big Me”. That’s the title of one of the chapters of his book, The Road to Character.
Brooks makes three observations about the creation of the Big Me through online media.
First, he notices, as we all do, that communication has become busier and faster. Most of us are using a number of communications platforms and each of them provides an eternal stream of images, text and audio, seeking to make an impression. One result of this is that periods of stillness and reflection are crowded out. We are encouraged to accept, share, post, like and purchase in the time it takes to left-click the mouse.
Time to think, mull over and to pray shrinks almost out of existence. Our connecting with others is more and more about what I myself accept and share, what I post and like.
Second, Brooks notices that while online, each of us becomes our own star. Compare this to an earlier time when celebrities were not as plentiful and most of us only watched them. Now we all aspire to be them. Brooks writes, “Each individual can be the sun at the center of his or her own media solar system.”
Third, the profile each of us creates on the web is a pleasing take on who we really are. This is true not only for dating sites. It is also true for other parts of our online presence. An obvious example: our social media profiles typically include photos of our best selves: our selves when we are happiest, sexiest, funniest, fittest, most liked, in the nicest resorts and at the hottest parties.
In the end, we need to be cautious about making our online presence about our egos, about the self, about the Big Me. We need to give space for the Small Me.
By the Small Me, I mean the me that resists clicking on everything that excites us or that agrees with our political or social views. We must recognize that it is good to think, to consider, to take time, to reflect. We need to re-value moments of stillness away from the barrage of impressions pouring through our screens and speakers. It’s okay to let the me become smaller and to ponder what we are seeing and hearing, rather than harvesting videos that make the me more impressive.
By the Small Me, I mean the me that is not interested in being a star. The world needs fewer stars seeking the adoration of others; it needs more people who want to serve others, who are willing to be small so that others in society can have greater hope.
Somehow we often turn this upside down. We pay celebrity athletes, CEOs and actors enormously for their services. Yet teachers, social workers and the staff of the local food bank often go unrecognized even after they burn out.
By the Small Me, I mean the me who is willing to be the real me, not a me that we manufacture online to impress potential friends, lovers and colleagues.
It may not be time to throw out our tablets, smart phones and HD screens. But it may be time to reflect on our use of them. Wouldn’t we serve each other better if each of us had an online presence that was less about creating the Big Me, and more about being a Small Me?
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
However, a status update, 18 likes, 22 videos and 19 minutes later, we still haven’t watched the item our instructor told us to view.
We do spend a lot of time online, and most would agree that our media and communications today are tremendously helpful. Their positive effects are all around us.
On the other hand, we do seem to spend a great deal of time grooming our personal online profiles, connecting with sites that support our views and laughing along with our online tribe. David Brooks, one of the sanest figures in journalism today, describes this as building the “Big Me”. That’s the title of one of the chapters of his book, The Road to Character.
Brooks makes three observations about the creation of the Big Me through online media.
First, he notices, as we all do, that communication has become busier and faster. Most of us are using a number of communications platforms and each of them provides an eternal stream of images, text and audio, seeking to make an impression. One result of this is that periods of stillness and reflection are crowded out. We are encouraged to accept, share, post, like and purchase in the time it takes to left-click the mouse.
Time to think, mull over and to pray shrinks almost out of existence. Our connecting with others is more and more about what I myself accept and share, what I post and like.
Second, Brooks notices that while online, each of us becomes our own star. Compare this to an earlier time when celebrities were not as plentiful and most of us only watched them. Now we all aspire to be them. Brooks writes, “Each individual can be the sun at the center of his or her own media solar system.”
Third, the profile each of us creates on the web is a pleasing take on who we really are. This is true not only for dating sites. It is also true for other parts of our online presence. An obvious example: our social media profiles typically include photos of our best selves: our selves when we are happiest, sexiest, funniest, fittest, most liked, in the nicest resorts and at the hottest parties.
In the end, we need to be cautious about making our online presence about our egos, about the self, about the Big Me. We need to give space for the Small Me.
By the Small Me, I mean the me that resists clicking on everything that excites us or that agrees with our political or social views. We must recognize that it is good to think, to consider, to take time, to reflect. We need to re-value moments of stillness away from the barrage of impressions pouring through our screens and speakers. It’s okay to let the me become smaller and to ponder what we are seeing and hearing, rather than harvesting videos that make the me more impressive.
By the Small Me, I mean the me that is not interested in being a star. The world needs fewer stars seeking the adoration of others; it needs more people who want to serve others, who are willing to be small so that others in society can have greater hope.
Somehow we often turn this upside down. We pay celebrity athletes, CEOs and actors enormously for their services. Yet teachers, social workers and the staff of the local food bank often go unrecognized even after they burn out.
By the Small Me, I mean the me who is willing to be the real me, not a me that we manufacture online to impress potential friends, lovers and colleagues.
It may not be time to throw out our tablets, smart phones and HD screens. But it may be time to reflect on our use of them. Wouldn’t we serve each other better if each of us had an online presence that was less about creating the Big Me, and more about being a Small Me?
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
