Procrastudy... and the Messy Breakup.

Procrastudy is the act of performing other learning based activities which have NOTHING to do with the task at hand... Blogging is NOT procrastudy, blogging is just pure unadulterated procrastination.

I just wanted to clarify that I'm under no illusions as to what my time spent blogging means; and in doing so thought it would be useful to highlight a word which I invented (or at least lay a large claim to its use) - procrastudy - I enjoy listening to lectures on literature and grammar, reading "teach yourself Latin" books and listening to Latin poetry. This is what I call procrastudy. Not that learning for the sake of learning is to be avoided... it just should be avoided when there is much more pressing work at hand.

The Messy Breakup...

Today it came to my attention that facebook is stalking me like a psychotic ex-girlfriend. When I mentioned that I was no longer a user of facebook to a friend, at first there was disbelief that ANYONE would get rid of their account... Then he asked how will we stay in touch while he is travelling? This is one person in a long line of people who have asked the same question - "How will we stay in touch?"

This little dilemma of an inability to communicate made me come to the realisation about a new way of marking time... No more BC(E)/AD crap! No no no... the coming of Christ is insignificant when compared to the way that facebook has changed our lives. We need Before Facebook (BF) and After Facebook (AF) as people now believe that life can not function without it, so it must not have functioned before it. The revese is in fact true!

So back to keeping in contact with people - I find the same dilemma has encroached on the business world already with the implementation of the "Crackberry" (aka. Blackberry). When the email function doesn't work on Blackberry, professionals (regardless of how old they are) tend to go into a frenzied panic as to how they will be able to contact people. I suppose they forgot that Blackberry's also have a PHONE FUNCTION! Now the same frantic worry has moved from the yuppies of the world to the rest of society using this manipulative website as its medium. Sneaky sneaky.

Facebook may have replaced your need for email, but the ability to email still exists, as does a phone and text messaging! In years to come people may wonder "How did we ever organise our lives without it (facebook): birthdays, BBQs, parties, or even just saying hello?!" Is facebook the new mobile phone? I hope not, although just look at any iPhone and I'm sure you'll find that there is a facebook application installed... this website has even infiltrated the technology its threatening to take over!

This is the thing about facebook (and the same could have been said about the internet when it was created), it is the most impersonal form of communication. The apparent internet community which you belong to is more segregated and fragmented than the population of Sydney was 20 years ago. You may have hundreds of friends, but how many do you actually choose to see or talk to, and more importantly, how many do you no longer speak to because you can check up on them on your new online community? Anyone can type a hello on facebook but real friends call to see how you're doing. If you're feeling like shit - do you really want the 300 fake friends on facebook to know? Its not an honest attempt at communicating as its a public forum.

When the hand written letter became typed, a visual element of expression dissapeared from non-verbal communication. Then MANY years down the track, email was the way ahead, and no longer did people have to WALK to the mailbox, everything was possible from the comfort of your own home. The same also goes for TXT messaging, of course a phone call could say everything you need to - but I guess a TXT is just another way of not commiting or putting effort in. Facebook is the next step towards (or away from) direct communication. This non-commital comunicaiton is easy, lacks sentiment and is a driving force for segregation.

"Look! Its someones birthday! I'll send them a message!" Yes, we've all recieved "Happy birthday!" messages from people who are "friends" on facebook. But what you don't realise is the long the gap in your friendship, or the more remotely you know the person, the less they actually care that its your birthday and the less sincere the the message. Odds are they just feel and obligation to post this on who ever is celebrating the birthday. I myself had 5 birthdays on facebook this year... each of which were congratulated by REPEAT OFFENDERS! Some of which didn't even realise that it was the 5th time they had wished me happy birthday this year!

Often people will complain there is no sense of community anymore, well with modes of communication that don't encourage sincerity, honesty, and a valid form of EFFECTIVE communication what can we expect. The great divide between human and humanity has been drawn in the ground with a circuit board, and now the internet with the aid of facebook has firmly crossed over.