ANONYMITY

The Catalyst For Pure Honesty In A World So Heavily Connected.

Friend me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Here’s my blog. Here’s my email. Here’s my number.

The need to be social. The need to be connected. The need for personal branding.

Liberals. Conservatives. Intellectuals. Goofballs. Christian. Muslim. Jewish. Agnostic. Atheist. Open-minded. Close-minded. And on and on and on.

The world is not made up of only one sort of person. It’s simply impossible to please everyone. In a world which is so incredibly connected and yet where we are loosing the art of true communication. People feel a power behind their computer. As we loose the ability or availability to talk to one another, people are becoming more bold at what they post online. Which only opens them up to criticism and judgment from the spectators.

So, how does one learn to express oneself in a world which is growing apart as fast as it’s becoming more connected? Empathy is being replaced by apathy. “Your” problems aren’t as important as “my” problems or “their” problems, so we don’t want to hear them. The society creates people with no real outlet, so we begin to see desperate outcries on social media. Which are unhealthily catered to, or judged, but rarely truly addressed.

Is the answer to completely close oneself off from the world? To find a means to express one’s inner thoughts and feelings where no one will hear them? To write a blog that no one will read, just to have a healthy and cathartic experience?

When will our society begin to realize that although we are more globally-minded and individually accessible, it does not equate to being relational or valued? Having people whom I don’t know “like” or “favorite” something I write does not mean they care anything about me as a person, only that something in that moment spoke to who they are or about what they enjoy.

Perhaps the answer is to know a person for at least a month before becoming involved via social media. To take the time and get to know that person through conversation, rather than viewing their “likes,” “interests,” and photos.

No one is going to read this, most likely. That gives me such a feeling of freedom. To be who I am without the worry of who is going to say it’s not good enough or it doesn’t agree with what they think. Honest expression. What a sad time when one feels the need to hide among strangers in order to freely be his or herself.

Maybe we should learn to take a break from our personal branding and work on simply being personal.