Where’d Everybody Go?
I suppose it’s inevitable that every explosion leads to a scattering, and the world of internet communications seems to be no exception. Once upon a time instant messaging was almost a nuisance and internet forums, even on obscure topics, were lively places.
But now … where is everybody? Livejournal, once a buzzing hive of activity, is quiet and slightly lonesome. Facebook, which has always been an incomprehensible mess, is useless for actually connecting with anybody, and Twitter, while a fun way to eavesdrop on celebrities and share cool links around, is an oddly stilted way of communicating with the world.
Granted, I am famously an introvert. But it’s not like I never want company — I just want it kept in manageable doses. Where once I had to throttle back my online connections in order to keep them meaningful, now I sometimes feel like I’m standing in an empty field shouting in the hopes of getting someone to hear. Is there no middle ground between flood and famine?
It’s not just online, either. People who were once close buds have in the past year drifted off and don’t respond to greetings. Friends who wandered into my life unexpectedly have or are in the process of wandering back out again, and it feels like even my artistic colleagues have rather spookily gone quiet.
Does anybody else feel this way? Are we all in little internet echo chambers, now? Where has everybody gone?
-The Gneech
I doubt I’m one of those people- only met you what, less than a year ago?
But I suspect a lot of people are really buckling down and grinding on basic survival. Also- for many people, their idea of survival and success involves ‘social media’ and they hype their ‘brand’ to the skies which produces an environment where you’re more likely to tune out all ‘social media’. If it’s just one big advertisement, nobody wants to listen anymore.
I think I successfully come off as someone with no talent or aspirations whatsoever :)
I’ve often felt what you’re talking about- when things just go dead and you feel like you aren’t really connected anywhere. To some extent this is just a feeling…
Very true. :) And I don’t want to sound like there are no contacts being made at all, it’s just a noticeable quantum lower than in the past, leaving a sort of empty spot.
-The Gneech
I think I understand,
I never been social myself. Mostly due to personal awkwardness than anything anybody else did. I, personally, still hang around livejournal but my friends list is mostly automatic feeds from websites I read. The real people on the list that I used to talk to on a regular basis, seem to have moved on. I can’t blame them for that, not at all. I’m just someone whose habits die hard and screaming all the way. :P
Regardless, things should even out eventually. I think once Never Never and new project start updating regulary people will start coming around on a more regular basis.
I hope so! :) Certainly the Arclight preview I posted earlier this week got a lot more attention than many of my other posts have been receiving. :)
-The Gneech