Monday, April 02, 2007

Playing Randomly

I can't quite put my finger on what it is that annoys me most about Facebook... I must admit I'm not a fan of the total addictiveness of it. I'm a weak man. And anytime my mind wanders it seems to wander back to facebook. Email is becoming obsolete. Even if I do get an email, it's usually alerting me that I have a message on facebook. And when I go to check that message I get a new feed about all the mundane things that have been hapenning during someone's day. I admit I often stalk other people's conversations.

Person 1's wall: "Hey I didn't see you at the place today."
Person 2's wall: "I didn't go to the place I had things to do."
Person 1's wall: "Like what? Go on facebook?"
Person 2's wall: "Yeah, facebook is super addictive. Did you see what that slut, Person 4 said to person 5??"
Person 3'swall: "Woah.. I went to High School with Person 4."

Jbo has the most exhaustive list of interests, favourite music and activities that I have ever seen on one page. And as if the dozens and dozens of songs, and movies and TV shows he puts up there isn't enough, he even has the balls to put entries like, "ANYTHING BY Ronald Dahl... for example." "ANYTHING from the 80's!" His list isn't long enough, he has to include all the music from an entire tacky decade. We discussed this phenomenon at length and Jbo concluded that having many diverse interests make him a fascinating person. To which I replied, "Wow! You like the Simpsons??? that's an AMAZING SHOW!!! You're fascinating and complex."

But the biggest Facebook grab for attention is the relationship status. Why would someone announce to the world that they're in an "open relationship"? What is an open relationship? Does it mean you're sleeping around but you sleep with one person more than others? Isn't that just not a relationship? Or a "complicated relationship"? What's complicated about it aside from the fact that now everyone knows something's going wrong? And wondering... And waiting for the day when the news feed reveals (with that tell tale broken heart icon next to it), "So and so is no longer in a complicated relationship...They are single and interested in dating individuals of the same sex..." Then I have to waste my time checking to see how their relationship is going, seeing if there are any revealing messages being exchanged between partners involved in said "complicated relationships".

And what does it mean when people say on their profiles that they're looking for "Random Play"? What is Random Play? Those two words together mean nothing to me. Then there's looking for, "Whatever I can get." I wish someone would give me one example of what they can get from facebook besides a place to flush your precious time down the toilet.

I think Facebook is one of the most interesting social experiments of our time. It really reveals the disparity between who people are, and what people want others to see. The best example is Vrej's FAVOURITE QUOTE: "Have fun!"

First of all, that is not a quote. I mean, who said that first? Even as far as a motto goes it's kind of iffy. Second of all coming from Vrej it's downright offensive.

Me: "Vrej want to go to Cabane a sucre?"
Vrej: "It's far... I already went... I need to go to city hall to attend to some paper work."

Or the yearly New Year's Eve conversation. Every year since 1998 I have this conversation with Vrej.
Me: "Vrej, want to do whatever for New Year's Eve?"
Vrej: "I'm boycotting New Years. New Years is overhyped, overrated. I'm staying home."

Or clubbing?
Vrej: "I'm never going clubbing ever again."

Want to go to the restaurant Vrej?
Vrej: "I'm trying to eat out less. And whatever restaurant you suggested is too expenisve, or too far or too unhealthy..."

Few people don't enjoy Vrej's company, but "fun" is not the first word that comes to mind when you think of Vrej. On Facebook however, Vrej, much like Cindy Lauper, wants nothing less. I think I should start a facebook group, "People who think Vrej should change his favourite quote to, "Don't have fun!""

But yeah, facebook is awful, awful stuff... To all those of you in "complicated relationships". Good luck! To those of you looking for whatever you can get, I hope you get whatever. And please, if you play randomly, use a condom.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being in an open relationship means that you're not bound conventional laws of fidelity. I can lend you a book about it; if you'd like.
-Baz

Masta said...

Conventional laws of fidelity? Fidelity doesn't really have laws as much as a definition. If you're in a relationship with one person and you don't date other people, you're practising fidelity. When you date other people, fidelity is absent and you're moving into the realm of promiscuity. Which is neither here nor there, it's just... why advertise?