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letra de social media: the divine gift of refinement - joseph greenspan

social media:
the divine gift of refinement

founded in the confines of a soph0m-re college dorm room at harvard, facebook’s first modest purpose operated as a database of paired online photos of cl-ssmates, in which users selected the “hotter” individual of the pair. this database allowed for users to judge their cl-ssmates on the most limited profile—simply a portrait—connected people through a network of commonalities in judgment, and credited value through a ranking system based on the democratic plurality of its pubic

whereas real human interaction is limited to a much smaller network of people, facebook blew the doors wide open to allow for integration en m-sse. but more, as exemplified by the network’s first purpose, facebook refined human interaction. people are complicated: they each bear a past extending decades back, a future that stretches many times more than that, and for an outsider to get to know someone, let alone deduce a definitive value judgment of their personhood, takes years. facebook infinitely condenses this process. it simultaneously broadens the social sphere and refines this m-ss interaction by its nature as a virtual network. from its inception, facebook’s founder mark zuckerberg unlocked a platform that functioned swiftly and seamlessly to measure its users self-worth

the backlash elicited from the original facebook came from those, mostly girls, who cited objectification: that they were treated as pieces of meat that were judged on a single picture. those in protest clearly didn’t grasp the g*nius in the simplicity, or the incredible networking capacity of it, and the self-perpetuating engine, which would ensue. in the ten years since its inception, with its purported objectification masked now in albums instead of a photo, a newsfeed of invaluable information of your closest friends, and in timelines that simulate human complexity, facebook stays true to its roots, with simplicity and a m-ssive virtual network as its two pillars
those initially averse have surely heeded its capacity as a new and superior reality, composed of over 1.5 billion people worldwide, approaching a quarter of the world population—and that’s counting those without internet access (statistic brain)

facebook, and the host of prominent social media platforms of which it is apart, have become so adept in their refinement and simulation of reality that many users seek to measure their own self-worth via their network presence. for before the social media boom, one might meet with some friends, engage in arduous-real life socializing, and after all that, what gauge does one have on their own self-worth? nothing tangible and indelibly present for all to see on the internet, that’s for sure. enter facebook: one might go out with some people, take an aesthetic picture that gives the impression of amus-m-nt, and post it on social media. once that picture receives some lower threshold amount of likes, one knows for certain by social consensus the quantified value of their life satisfaction and self-worth. no longer does genuine enjoyment matter, which is indeed hard to come by—it’s the pretense of enjoyment circulated through a network of virtual friends by which one can derive their self-worth. the ease to which this virtual, self-contrived value can be achieved is the remarkable feat of zuckerberg and the other world-mastering demigods of silicon valley

of course, with any great achievement come those brimming green with envy. some scarcely scorn, and it is hardly worth mentioning, that social networks are ultimately virtual worlds, mimicking reality in primitive form. specious claims follow that these networks are only valuable at the margins for limited use in some of its useful features like groups, events and philanthropy. these rebels claim that their widespread use, isolative tendency, additive capacity, objectification, trend towards societal narcissism and deceptive self-worth judgments are deleterious and futile. they mock brilliant features like “poking”, deriding it as predatory and “facebook stalking” as strikingly disturbing. these mere mortals gravely mistake the inferiority of the eternal virtual reality, miss that sentiments like “poking” and “stalking” are only problems of the real world and not the virtual one, for being “poked” or “stalked” is the ultimate honor afforded by virtual reality

and yes there’s a growing epidemic of internet predators, with just facebook accounting for almost 100 million fake accounts by date (statistic brain). and yes there’s a certain degree of capricious chaos and brutality in the public comments of the cyber world—youtube is a good example. but the keyboard warriors of this movement have fell upon a new breed of courage. they sit comfortably behind the veil of fiber-optics, and there they are free to speak their minds, scream through their keyboards, and revel in the liberation of anonymity. if freedom is the prevailing theme of our time, then social media is its outlet

fortunately, social media’s magnificent boom is now inexorable, as these platforms have integrated human interaction to the fullest extent. once these platforms garnered a critical m-ss, one either partic-p-tes or is left behind to exist in the exclusive and lonely real world. “college kids are online because their friends are online,” says zuckerberg in the social network: if one wants to be invited to events, included in groups, or privy to the exclusive knowledge of the “news feed”, then there is no option to abstain from social media. it bears a tenacity that is built on the backs of its users and sustained by the rolling tide of democracy

news sources and corporations small and large aren’t immune to the pull of social media, as with m-ss integration comes an unprecedented opportunity for advertis-m-nt. while small start ups like facebook began in modest intentions—with broadening the social sphere and simplifying reality at its forefront—there comes a time when even as n0ble a cause as facebook’s needs to monetize to preserve its philanthropy. facebook’s chief operating officer, sheryl sandberg, was quoted in the new yorker stating, “our goal is, in ah privacy-safe way, to get information we can about what consumers want and then help connect marketers, so the ad experience is great for users.” it’s remarkable, really, that facebook has built a great advertising experience. all too often does one wish that advertis-m-nts could target their consumer interests more aptly—thereby connecting one with products he didn’t even realize he would now throw his money at. our information is now facebook’s information, because it knows how to exploit it better then we do

social media embodies the consummate existence. if one wishes to engage in the n0ble pursuit of forging the greatest unreality, then relish in the freedom of infinite possibilities that is social media. it affords its users a greater magnitude of interaction, friends, and a refinement of socialization that perpetually trumps reality. after all, social media posits a solution to chronic loneliness, for there isn’t any reason now to experience isolation when connectivity never has to leave your fingertips. so then shout at the top of your fingertips, engage in the great american tradition of reinvention, and delight forever in the unreality of the virtual world

- joseph greenspan

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