Post by robcaudill on Aug 9, 2011 12:28:15 GMT -5
There are pieces of the article “The End of Solitude” that I agree with, but there are far more pieces I disagree with. I don’t agree that we’ve all come to dislike solitude. I think everyone requires solitude at times, and I do not believe that just because we use Facebook and Twitter we lack the ability to spend time alone. Perhaps the twenty first century has forced us to look at solitude in a different light; to have it mean “physically alone” rather than “mentally or technologically alone.” I for one spend time alone on my computer checking out Facebook, but I wouldn’t consider myself lacking the capacity to spend time by myself.
However, I am sure that I’m generalizing everyone’s ability to spend time alone. Perhaps there are really people out there who can’t, and who only strive to be seen by everyone they know. I feel like William Deresiewicz’s quote, “This is what the contemporary self wants. It wants to be recognized, wants to be connected: It wants to be visible. If not to the millions, on Survivor or Oprah, then to the hundreds, on Twitter or Facebook. This is the quality that validates us, this is how we become real to ourselves — by being seen by others,” is written just for him. His every move is put up on Facebook or Twitter, and if no one comments on what he has done in a post or said in a status, he’ll delete that post or status. It is as if unless others can find what he says prodigal, he doesn’t want to say it. He must have validation from the 1,600 people who are his friend on Facebook, or the 300 who follow him on Twitter. With this type of person in mind, I would say Deresiewicz isn’t too far off in his estimation that SOME people simply can’t spend time alone.
I completely disagree with the author’s insinuation that because we are a society that values fast, efficient means of communication that most of us never feel lonely. In the article, he states that, “Not long ago, it was easy to feel lonely. Now, it is impossible to be alone.” I simply cannot believe that Deresiewicz does not feel like he is alone at times, even with the development of text messaging, Facebook, and email. I know of many people who I would venture to guess frequently feel alone, even though they are usually connected to someone in some technological way. In these days of smart phones and social networking we are always connected, but often alone. Regardless of what kind of way the author attempts to present his view, I just cannot buy into it. If he can state that it is not easy to feel alone these days, then he has clearly never experienced the end of a relationship, death of a family member, or the typical qualms of the American teenager.
This article was by far my least favorite. As an individual who values social media and technology as a huge part of life in the twenty first century, I resent the implication that it has somehow plagued my generation with the inability to simply sit and reflect on the events of our lives. We can still do that, regardless of how technology has changed communication and connections. Perhaps this author should spend a day in the life of a twenty first century teenager if he believes Facebook’s creation meant the end of solitude.
However, I am sure that I’m generalizing everyone’s ability to spend time alone. Perhaps there are really people out there who can’t, and who only strive to be seen by everyone they know. I feel like William Deresiewicz’s quote, “This is what the contemporary self wants. It wants to be recognized, wants to be connected: It wants to be visible. If not to the millions, on Survivor or Oprah, then to the hundreds, on Twitter or Facebook. This is the quality that validates us, this is how we become real to ourselves — by being seen by others,” is written just for him. His every move is put up on Facebook or Twitter, and if no one comments on what he has done in a post or said in a status, he’ll delete that post or status. It is as if unless others can find what he says prodigal, he doesn’t want to say it. He must have validation from the 1,600 people who are his friend on Facebook, or the 300 who follow him on Twitter. With this type of person in mind, I would say Deresiewicz isn’t too far off in his estimation that SOME people simply can’t spend time alone.
I completely disagree with the author’s insinuation that because we are a society that values fast, efficient means of communication that most of us never feel lonely. In the article, he states that, “Not long ago, it was easy to feel lonely. Now, it is impossible to be alone.” I simply cannot believe that Deresiewicz does not feel like he is alone at times, even with the development of text messaging, Facebook, and email. I know of many people who I would venture to guess frequently feel alone, even though they are usually connected to someone in some technological way. In these days of smart phones and social networking we are always connected, but often alone. Regardless of what kind of way the author attempts to present his view, I just cannot buy into it. If he can state that it is not easy to feel alone these days, then he has clearly never experienced the end of a relationship, death of a family member, or the typical qualms of the American teenager.
This article was by far my least favorite. As an individual who values social media and technology as a huge part of life in the twenty first century, I resent the implication that it has somehow plagued my generation with the inability to simply sit and reflect on the events of our lives. We can still do that, regardless of how technology has changed communication and connections. Perhaps this author should spend a day in the life of a twenty first century teenager if he believes Facebook’s creation meant the end of solitude.