Post by zaidsiddiqui on Aug 9, 2011 14:48:48 GMT -5
The essay, The End of Solitude speaks about people wanting to constantly be in touch with other people because of the appearance of all the new social networking sites such as facebook and twitter, but in reality that isn’t quite true for the whole population. I find solitude a necessity at many points throughout the year but I also greatly value friendship and the company of others. The amount of solitude one desires is solely based on that individual since each person is different. For example, busy parents, such as my mother (who takes care of five kids, one of them being 4 years old), desire a great deal of solitude to be able to rest and relax once in a while. The new generation, however, desires companionship, but even then there can always be too much. If one was constantly in the company of another, then eventually one of the two would agitate the other and a fight or some other form of quarrel would soon ensue. Mr. Deresiewicz stated, “This is what the contemporary self wants. It wants to be recognized, wants to be connected: It wants to be visible,” but in some cases people prefer to be invisible and do what they can without being recognized. I was at a camp this summer during which I met someone who was exactly like that. A kid named Alex Walton would always try and help people and generally no one noticed and he didn’t care. He would play the piano for himself and he is extremely talented, but he played for himself not for recognition from others. However, there are people who constantly crave companionship.
I do agree with Mr. Deresiewicz when he talks about how the Internet has allowed people to want crave attention and become mini-celebrities. He said, “The goal now, it seems, is simply to become known, to turn oneself into a sort of miniature celebrity.” When I am on the Internet and I notice that people have tried to become popular by imitating a famous person, it makes me realize that some people have now become so desperate for attention due to the Internet that they mimic others, but I do realize there things as crazy fans as well. I have also heard about people having contests on facebook to see who can the most friends, but being someone’s “friend” on facebook doesn’t really mean anything unless you at least sometimes communicate. People will add others just because they have people in common, in my opinion that’s rather creepy.
I also agree with Mr. Deresiewicz when he says that new technologies are the cause of loneliness and boredom. Facebook, twitter and text messages all have allowed people to come together and to seek companionship of others, however when everyone is away we are in grief because those people aren’t with us. My friend came to America to stay with us because all of his friends were on vacation and some had even moved away. He figured at home his sister would constantly be out with her friends and he’d always be alone without friends or family and he became frustrated over that fact when we visited him, even before he left. We wouldn’t be in contact much on Facebook because of the time difference and his outlook to future put him an a bad mood. The new technologies that allowed him to be in contact with friends and family became useless to him and caused him to grieve over what he would soon lose and also resulted in his loneliness. As Mr. Deresiewicz put it, “Loneliness is not the absence of company, it is grief over that absence,” which perfectly described my friends situation.
I do agree with Mr. Deresiewicz when he talks about how the Internet has allowed people to want crave attention and become mini-celebrities. He said, “The goal now, it seems, is simply to become known, to turn oneself into a sort of miniature celebrity.” When I am on the Internet and I notice that people have tried to become popular by imitating a famous person, it makes me realize that some people have now become so desperate for attention due to the Internet that they mimic others, but I do realize there things as crazy fans as well. I have also heard about people having contests on facebook to see who can the most friends, but being someone’s “friend” on facebook doesn’t really mean anything unless you at least sometimes communicate. People will add others just because they have people in common, in my opinion that’s rather creepy.
I also agree with Mr. Deresiewicz when he says that new technologies are the cause of loneliness and boredom. Facebook, twitter and text messages all have allowed people to come together and to seek companionship of others, however when everyone is away we are in grief because those people aren’t with us. My friend came to America to stay with us because all of his friends were on vacation and some had even moved away. He figured at home his sister would constantly be out with her friends and he’d always be alone without friends or family and he became frustrated over that fact when we visited him, even before he left. We wouldn’t be in contact much on Facebook because of the time difference and his outlook to future put him an a bad mood. The new technologies that allowed him to be in contact with friends and family became useless to him and caused him to grieve over what he would soon lose and also resulted in his loneliness. As Mr. Deresiewicz put it, “Loneliness is not the absence of company, it is grief over that absence,” which perfectly described my friends situation.