I have no particular solution to this problem, which is not even really a problem, just sort of a depressing state of affairs, so I’m just bitching or, as so many people say nowadays, just sayin’.
I have noticed, in recent weeks, a new tendency in the posts on my facebook page, a new direction, a new trend. I’m not talking about the Buzzfeed clickbait IQ tests for morons, like “How many faces can you see in this picture?” or “Name a film that doesn’t have the letter T in the title?,” even though I feel stupider every time I even respond to one of those. I’m not talking about those people who constantly post pictures of their children. I’m a parent. I understand the urge. And kids are, generally, pretty cute. Ditto with cute animal videos. It’s a bit much, but they are cute and there’s no law that says you have to look at all of them.
I’m certainly not talking about the birthday greetings, which is one of my favorite features on facebook. Everybody gets one day a year when they are the most important person of all your friends, and that makes for a pretty cool holiday. And how the hell else would you know, if facebook weren’t there to tell you?
No, this one isn’t even facebook’s fault. In recent weeks, I have noticed an alarming number of people announcing medical problems -everything from an infected foot (my aunt, who is 100, so it’s not such a minor thing) up to actual death (nobody I knew in person but, still, an unpleasant reminder that life is limited)
Maybe it’s because I’ve got a lot of old people among my 1500 odd friends. Maybe it’s because everybody is related to somebody who is old. Maybe it’s because it’s just been a bad couple of weeks. Maybe people are just becoming more and more comfortable with putting every aspect of their lives online.
Which is O.K. Illness, injury and death are important life events and all of your friends want to know. But pictures of your hospital room are not terribly interesting, and close ups of your post-op scars can be a bit gross. Just sayin’.
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