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I’ve been bored of the Internet lately. I’ve stopped checking my twitter messages, reading my newsfeeds, and going on sites I used to frequent just for the fun of it. I feel completely overwhelmed by information, and I feel wholly inadequate to survive the 21st century.
Everyone seems to be really upbeat. Articles are constantly talking about the next best thing. And for some reason, no one seems to want to stop. It’s really scary – everyone seems to be really getting ahead in life, and I feel really out of step – like stepping on a dance partner’s feet or something.
It’s like I’m expecting someone to tell me – “it’s okay to stop living for awhile”, “leave the laptop in the bag”, “forget about how your friends are doing”, “go to bed”, “it’s not going to make any difference whether the Palm Pixi is going to be a hit or not”, “it’s okay to do the same boring thing over and over again”.
Because in some ways, that’s what I’m doing now. And I don’t feel like I can change my circumstances very much, such that I have exciting things I absolutely needed to share with the whole world. I just don’t have anything going on at the moment that’s very exciting. And I’m thinking that’s what a lot of people call, “a mediocre life” – when folks start settling down and getting into a routine of things.
I actually believe that most people live mediocre lives 90% of the time. That they have routines that don’t change very much. Or wishes and dreams that seldom get acted upon. And conversations that don’t change very often. And time seems to just seems to drift by. And for these people, that’s just the way life is.
I actually don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but the Internet is inherently a very explosive sort of environment – an explosion of activities. Emails. Blogs. Messages. Articles. Feeds. Comments. Streams. Votes. Tags. Notes. Clicks. If all this activity ever grinded to a halt, then the Internet would cease being the Internet.
It’s like – on the Internet – you can’t ever be someone mediocre. It’s almost like you needed to be someone with an opinion worth giving, or someone with a message worth sharing, or someone whose goals were so important that you needed to click on stuff or to read something or respond to something. You couldn’t just be “nobody” on the Internet, because everyone else is a nobody and it’s like you need to prove that you’re not because it already became so brain-numbingly easy. Just click. Or reply. Or comment. Or upload that photo. Something. Anything.
But, here I am with absolutely no motivation to check my twitter messages or read my newsfeeds and I’m telling myself it’s fine. It’s fine to be mediocre, and to just live the way some people live – without a care in the world.
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Comments
11.13.09
I really enjoyed reading your post (and it's one of the first I've read since joining this site!). I have been feeling the same way, and wondering how my parents and grandparents feel about all the technology swirling around them. This morning I told my co-worker that I haven't seen any television this week, and that I'm failing at keeping up with my email this week. He looked at me like I had sprouted horns; he just couldn't believe I hadn't seen Project Runway or checked my RSS feeds. 24x7 connectivity is stressful and creating a sense of failure when you're out of the loop. Sigh...I think we're all doing just fine!
11.13.09
It is fine. I give you permission to do this. Sometimes you just have to stop. I love my friends, and the blogs that I check regularly, but sometimes you need a digital vacation.
I always figured too, that you need to stop doing something for a while to love it again :)
I say grab a magazine, or a book and go lie on the couch for a few days....
your motivation will pick up soon enough :)
11.13.09
from despair.com, creator of the Demotivational posters:
http://despair.com/med24x30prin.html
"Mediocrity - It takes a lot less time, and most people won't notice the difference until it's too late."
(This is the current image for November on my Despair.com calendar on my cubicle wall)
:)
11.13.09
Hey Boon, have you ever thought that maybe all of us who are Emailing, Blogging, Tweeting, the day away are actually the most routine people? Maybe we're the mediocre ones and you're actually more interesting for walking away from it.
Most of the stuff that's happening online is just noise. It's good that you're taking the time to think about what you put out there.
11.13.09
I kinda freaked out because I totally lost motivation to do anything on the internet, and I like practically live on the internet (otherwise I wouldn't be replying to this comment thread). Thanks for the comments though - I guess there are other things we do in life as well, and it's not like I can't come back ever.
11.13.09
Your post made my brain explode with thought. As such, I would write too much to have a legitimate comment. But nice post :)
11.13.09
Some phases are meant to consume us entirely and then pass entirely.Life is funny like that. Some phases linger on. Depending on what you take away from each of life's phases, you'll come out a richer and more adaptable person as time goes on.
Cheers to mediocrity by way of going with the flow :-)
11.13.09
Sounds like the Lake Wobegon effect:
"Lake Wobegon, where all the men are handsome, all the women are strong and all the children are above average."
11.13.09
"It’s like – on the Internet – you can’t ever be someone mediocre... "
Maybe I'm out of the ordinary (or just simply old-school), because the places I frequent online are oftenb... mediocre. My introduction to the internet was back when online journaling was just that - an online journal. Blogging for any substantial "profit" was not even heard of; we wrote/blogged for different reasons.
I'll tell you, that's where you found genuine content. When people wrote, and were active online as a part of daily life, to connect and express. Not to review, reward, or promote for self-serving benefits. Comments were sincere, instead of loaded with links and intent. With all of the ads, promoting, reviewing and networking, I often relish the "mediocre" of the internet. It keeps me grounded.
09.28.10
Webcams 70-680 can be 642-902 seen as an even lower-budget 646-204 extension of this 220-701 phenomenon. While 350-030 some webcams can give 70-642 full-frame-rate video, the picture is N10-004 usually either small or updates slowly. Internet users can watch animals around 640-822 an African 640-816 waterhole, ships in the Panama Canal, traffic at a local roundabout or 70-649 monitor their EX0-101 own premises, live and in real time. Video chat rooms and video conferencing 642-832 are also popular with many uses being found for personal webcams, with and 640-863 without two-way sound. YouTube was founded on 15 February 2005 and is now the 640-553 leading website for free streaming video with a vast number of users. It uses PMI-001 a flash-based web player to stream and show video files. Registered users may 220-702 upload an unlimited amount of video and build their own personal profile. YouTube 70-647 claims that its users watch hundreds of millions, 70-290 and upload hundreds 642-436 of thousands of videos daily.
11.23.10
ot to review, reward, or promote for self-serving benefits. Comments were sincere, instead of loaded with links and intent. With all of the ads, promoting, reviewing and networking, I often relish the "mediocre" of the internet. It keeps me grounded. Famous Quotes
11.25.10
"Lake Wobegon, where all the men are handsome, all the women are strong and all the children are above average."
Luxury Home Accessories
11.28.10
With all of the ads, promoting, reviewing and networking, I often relish the "mediocre" of the internet. It keeps me grounded. printer ink
12.08.10
What's wrong with being exceptional?
12.08.10
@Raquel: Being exception requires risk, and some people risk-adverse
12.08.10
@raquel : Arrrrg... I meant "exceptional"!
12.08.10
Despair.com comes through again:
http://despair.com/med24x30prin.html
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