(apologies to the youngsters who have no clue what that subject means)
What is reality in today’s internet environment?
http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/how-to-fake-your-next-vacation/
Something everyone should remember whenever they look at social media such as Facebook.
“I did this to show people that we filter and manipulate what we show on social media,” Ms. van der Born told Dutch journalists. “We create an online world which reality can no longer meet.”
I’ve seen similar things said many times and maybe I just don’t get it. I keep seeing it said that what is posted on sites like FB don’t match reality. Maybe I just don’t practice enough deception in my life. Of course I don’t talk about the mundane shit with my family and I rarely post pictures of my gardens when they are weedy, but that doesn’t mean that reality can’t meet what I post.
I doubt that very many people at all try to deceive people with what they post. They are just posting the interesting things in their lives and the times they have a picture that looks good or someone did something good. I think it is good if we don’t have FB news feeds or twitter feeds that have every mundane detail of the poster’s life. In fact, there are more than a few people that could filter a little more. I really don’t care what you had for dinner, the picture of it that you posted looks like vomit.
In the Matrix anything is possible.
“I did this to show people that we filter and manipulate what we show on social media,” Ms. van der Born told Dutch journalists. “We create an online world which reality can no longer meet.”
I’ve seen similar things said many times and maybe I just don’t get it. I keep seeing it said that what is posted on sites like FB don’t match reality. Maybe I just don’t practice enough deception in my life. Of course I don’t talk about the mundane shit with my family and I rarely post pictures of my gardens when they are weedy, but that doesn’t mean that reality can’t meet what I post.
I doubt that very many people at all try to deceive people with what they post. They are just posting the interesting things in their lives and the times they have a picture that looks good or someone did something good. I think it is good if we don’t have FB news feeds or twitter feeds that have every mundane detail of the poster’s life. In fact, there are more than a few people that could filter a little more. I really don’t care what you had for dinner, the picture of it that you posted looks like vomit.
Part of what she is saying is that one cannot know what reality is when presented in such a manner. The poster filters reality, as she has done (to the extreme). While she was being deceptive, I think that most of what I see on FB (don’t do Twitter or anything else) can be classified as deceptive in that it only shows very select snapshots of reality; usually such snapshots are attempts at portraying what a wonderful existence the poster wants the viewer to think they have (either deliberately or unintentionally).
The previous (and on-going) method was to park your really expensive car in front of your manicured McMansion: nobody could see that you were mortgaged to the hilt and your wife was sleeping with the pool boy.
Sometimes I think these people are idiots and have way too much time on their hands. Then, I check my posting history. Carry on.
Sometimes I think these people are idiots and have way too much time on their hands. Then, I check my posting history. Carry on.
That’s bullshit! We are doing important work here!
Irony = someone writing for the NYTimes telling us what is and what isn’t “reality.”
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Irony = someone writing for the NYTimes telling us what is and what isn’t “reality.”
FIFY
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I thought Facebook was meant for awkward college boys to meet girls at Harvard?
“The previous (and on-going) method was to park your really expensive car in front of your manicured McMansion: nobody could see that you were mortgaged to the hilt and your wife was sleeping with the pool boy.”
Well I guess I AM different. I’m the one sleeping with the pool boy.
I’ve seen similar things said many times and maybe I just don’t get it.
There was a study posted here I think, or I read it somewhere else, who knows it’s all a blurr anymore…but I digress, that was about a level of depression surrounding FB. They study how much time people spend sifting thru photo’s to find the “Perfect” photos to post online. The number was something extraordinarily ridiculous. They then became somewhat depressed when looking at “How great” everyone elses life on FB was, not taking into consideration that all those other people spend as much time sifting thru photo’s finding the “Perfect” photo’s.
Of course I don’t talk about the mundane shit with my family and I rarely post pictures of my gardens when they are weedy, but that doesn’t mean that reality can’t meet what I post.
If I didn’t post mundane shit and my weedy garden my FB page would be blank…maybe that why I don’t have a FB page 
I doubt that very many people at all try to deceive people with what they post.
I doubt people set out with the mindset of “I’m going to try and trick everyone into thinking my life is wonderful by posting all my perfect pictures”. However the intent of posting “Perfect pics” and “Wonderful experiences” is to ONLY show the “Best” portions of ones life and thus the “Reality” set forth on ones FB does not match the reality of their actual lives. That in and of itself is deceptive as it is generally portrayed as “This is my life”.
~Matt
While she was being deceptive, I think that most of what I see on FB (don’t do Twitter or anything else) can be classified as deceptive in that it only shows very select snapshots of reality; usually such snapshots are attempts at portraying what a wonderful >existence the poster wants the viewer to think they have (either deliberately or unintentionally).
We did this before the Internet, though. In letters. Even in our daily interactions with a lot of people who we’re trying to impress. Ms. van der Born could have easily pulled off the same ruse with a pen and paper, and a few rolls of 35mm film.
I’ve seen similar things said many times and maybe I just don’t get it.
There was a study posted here I think, or I read it somewhere else, who knows it’s all a blurr anymore…but I digress, that was about a level of depression surrounding FB. They study how much time people spend sifting thru photo’s to find the “Perfect” photos to post online. The number was something extraordinarily ridiculous. They then became somewhat depressed when looking at “How great” everyone elses life on FB was, not taking into consideration that all those other people spend as much time sifting thru photo’s finding the “Perfect” photo’s.
Of course I don’t talk about the mundane shit with my family and I rarely post pictures of my gardens when they are weedy, but that doesn’t mean that reality can’t meet what I post.
If I didn’t post mundane shit and my weedy garden my FB page would be blank…maybe that why I don’t have a FB page
I doubt that very many people at all try to deceive people with what they post.
I doubt people set out with the mindset of “I’m going to try and trick everyone into thinking my life is wonderful by posting all my perfect pictures”. However the intent of posting “Perfect pics” and “Wonderful experiences” is to ONLY show the “Best” portions of ones life and thus the “Reality” set forth on ones FB does not match the reality of their actual lives. That in and of itself is deceptive as it is generally portrayed as “This is my life”.
~Matt
This is how professional photography works for some people. Shoot hundreds, perhaps thousands, of frames and pick out one or two keepers and chuck the rest.
I just met a guy today shooting photos at a surf spot. He said he posts photos on his website daily and told me to check it out. I did and emailed telling him he needs to make friends with his delete button. The dude is uploading hundreds of pictures daily to his site and 99.9999% of them are shit.
If I ever get on Facebook I’m going to post the crappiest possible photos I can muster, just to mock the whole thing.