And then my head exploded!

#blameitonthehashtags


Some pieces from my morning Facebook reading. I’m just going to put these right here next to each other for you to take a look.

  1. Sam Biddle from Gawker’s Valleywag exposes frat-boy/Silicon Valley superstar Evan Spiegel’s sleazy, misogynist messages in gorgeously titled

“Fuck Bitches Get Leid”

As always with Gawker, it’s key to read the comments.

Meanwhile, poor Sam desperately tries to get people to see why this is a story at all.

I admit, even I am not terribly shocked or outraged. There is nothing new being said here. (Does he seriously not know how to spell laid?)

2. Further down my feed:

#YESALLWOMEN continues.

More stories. All remind me of my Barnard days and late nights listening to the endlessly heartbreaking stories told by women of abuse and disrespect.

3. Next: #IWantToSeeYouInPorn

Now, I’m reading about Belle Knox’s new reality competition called The Sex Factor. Watching the trailer leaves me sure I’m seeing something from The Onion.

4. #bringbackourgirls

Last month’s furor has died down to an almost imperceptible hum. Most people’s attention has bounced elsewhere by now.

5. I’m mostly ignoring the relentless repetition of Elliot Rodgers’ face. Call it denial if you wish.

It’s the stream that overwhelms us!

Remember Max Headroom? Freaky stuttering head and shoulders with blond hair 80's TV show — introduced in 1984 to be exact — positing that all the information streaming from our devices into our eyes would make our heads explode?

Well, it happened.

We follow the hashtags, but it’s impossible to synthesize all this information into something coherent or actionable.

We allow ourselves the distraction because it’s easier to jump to the next outrage than to focus and find a solution. I hope that makes you feel just a little uncomfortable and suggest you sit with it for a bit. Or you can click and move on.