Note to self - Ref "I share therefore I am" June 14, 2011
The quote below reminded me of Shelly Turkle's talk at the Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other event - especially the sad idea of "I share therefore I am" - a shorthand for the way that some people report feeling "more alive" (Shelly Turkle may have used a different expression) because of tweeting or updating to facebook.
The quote comes from "Can I get a witness?" - http://www.sarahdopp.com/blog/2011/can-i-get-a-witness/
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I’m kicking myself for being quiet because I am less happy when I’m not interacting with the Internet. I could go on a long anthropomorphizing rant about how you’d be unhappy, too, if you weren’t talking to your lover of 14 years. Or I could just quote gapingvoid and make it simple:
“Sharing makes us happy. Not sharing makes us unhappy. Like I said, [it's] a fundamental human drive.” -Hugh MacLeod
Or, to expand: The Internet is about access, and access matters because it allows us to bear witness.
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I'm thinking:
- I agree that access to the Internet is life-enhancing - so many new ideas - so many people to explore them with.
- There are some words that don't mean that same thing F2F and online - including "friends' and "sharing".
- I don't think that online "friendships" can compare with face to face ones - because you aren't near enough to offer each other practical help in times of trouble.
- Similarly there is something qualitatively different between "sharing on the Internet" and the “Sharing makes us happy. Not sharing makes us unhappy." kind of sharing.
- Sharing on the Internet = sharing information = sharing-while-keeping
- I think the "Sharing makes us happy" = a more generous and social kind of sharing = sharing things = "sharing-through-giving".