“I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work so I called him at home and then he e-mailed me to my Blackberry and so I texted to his cell and then he e-mailed me to my home account and the whole thing just got out of control. And I miss the days when you had one phone number and one answering machine and that one answering machine has one cassette tape and that one cassette tape either had a message from a guy or it didn’t. And now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting.” – Mary, He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
The idea of this quote just played around in my head today. It’s just that I can relate to it so much nowadays. Not in the sense that there’s this guy that I like and I get rejected by seven different technologies, but I get it. I get it so much. It also applies to friendships, especially those that you only manage to have online.
Right now, there are so many social networking sites and a lot of people are members of at least three of them. Most of the time, you join them so you can keep in touch with your friends, coworkers, et cetera. That’s the main point of these things, really, but the funny thing is, no matter how connected we seem, we’re really not. Sure, you’ve added or friended these people, but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a genuine connection will spring from that action. Most days, you’re just another name and picture in their timeline, dashboard, friends’ list, whatever and you’re lucky if someone or a couple of people regularly respond or “Like” the things that you post.
I guess some people don’t make a big deal about it. Yeah, you’re one in more than a hundred in someone’s list of friends in a certain social networking site. It happens. You can’t expect people to notice you or focus on you all the time. Move on, loser. You can start worrying about other things. Better yet, why not go out and actually talk to people, huh? Make new friends or better yet, actually talk to the ones you already have. Stop moping about and thinking about things you can’t help or control.
But I do and it just makes me sad because it does feel like you’re being rejected or ignored when you do put yourself out there and no one responds. And in multiple platforms too. It just sucks. Really, really sucks and I sympathize with Drew Barrymore’s character because of that.
I wish I could have another Toffee Nut Latte. /sighs
Wandering Minds and Busy Hands 