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Myspace: Is This the End of the World?

posted August 30, 2006 - 11:59am
Myspace: Is This the End of the World?

I love Myspace. I love it so much that if it were a person I'd have sex with it. It is an aphrodisiac. Assumedly, I am not the only person who feels this way because at last login, the network was well over 100 million users. This worldwide phenomenon can be summarized in two words: Internet Crack.

I feel as though I have tamed my addiction a bit. There was a time when I'd come in from work and as I was taking my coat off and flinging my bag on the chair, I'd be reaching into the office with my foot so that I could turn the computer on with my big toe. This way, the PC would boot up while I was peeing and making coffee and by the time I sat down, Myspace would be in front of me in the time it took for me to type the URL.

Nowadays, I don't live with the parents anymore and I don't even have money for groceries let alone an ISP so I have to use other people's computers to check Myspace. We can't get on from work because the filter doesn't allow it. It is deemed "inappropriate". I am insulted by this. So instead, I slink around my friends' homes seeing if their computer happens to be on. Perhaps, I can say I'm going to the bathroom and just look quickly and see if I have a new friend request or something. Even at work, I still check everyday just to see if maybe by some strange blip in cyberspace, the filter will allow me to check my precious messages just this one time. Of course, I only do this during lunch when there is nobody around. I'm like an alcoholic who sneaks drinks at every chance for fear of anyone discovering her awful secret.

The addiction stems from one simple concept. And I am not speaking for myself here. I am speaking on behalf of every other Myspace obsessed freak that is out there. As we know, there are 100 million of them. The concept of which I speak is the fact that there is no topic IN THE WORLD that any person would rather speak about than themself. It's that simple. Myspace has based itself on the foundation that people will spend hours upon hours building and maintaining a webpage entirely about THEM. This is quite possibly one of the most brilliant ideas I have ever heard. It allows us to be shamelessly narcissistic with no guilt and disguises the whole operation as "Come on in and make friends!"

Where else can we do this? Uh, nowhere. Can you imagine standing in the middle of the mall and having people come over to visit you so that you can tell them how old you are, what music you listen to, your favorite tv shows, what books you have read, your mission in life, your sports team affiliations, whether or not you smoke and drink, and if you want to have children - all the time posing at various angles so that they can get a good look at you. Then, if they ask to be your friend you get to accept or deny the invitation right on the spot! In the middle of The Mall of America! The idea is preposterous when thought of in another context. But behind a computer screen, it is sheer genius. You can fill out surveys all day long, telling people what is under your bed and your mother's maiden name...and never feel one bit bad about it.

Even better is the fact that everything you represent about yourself on Myspace is surely only the top of the crop. We would never post the picture of the time we got wasted at a frat party, passed out with our head in a urinal, and then our friends put dandelions in our mouth and captured it on film. No way! You post the picture of the time your boobs looked awesome. And you color saturate it to hide your zits. Duh.

Even if you are a musician, actor, comedian etc... you are still there for the purpose of self-promotion. And furthermore, the fact that you ARE there allows us mere mortals to pretend to be friends with you which, in turn, brings our level of vanity to a whole new stratosphere.("Yo, guess who's my friend on Myspace? Owen Wilson, man!")

But with the very, very good comes an equally as dramatic thought. What would happen if Internet Crack were to just...go away? GASP! What if Tom just decided one day that he had made enough money and he was really bored and he wanted to pull the plug on all the losers he himself created (come to think of it...he DOES look a little like Dr. Frankenstein)? Mass hysteria would ensue. Looting, rioting, hacking...UTTER ANARCHY. Can you picture pop culture sans Myspace? I can't. It would be like...Madonna dying or something. I couldn't handle it.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or start any rumors. Madonna is alive and Myspace is still up and running. In the meantime, it might be a good idea for all of us to start finding more useful things to do with our time lest the DTs take over should Myspace really take a hike one of these days. And in that sorry event, let's hope we all don't drown in our own very pretty reflections.



Comments

hahaha.

You are so right. I never even thought about it as e-narcissism...but it SO is. Classic post. I actually want to do a demonstration in a mall just like you painted early in this post. Hilarious.

First and foremost, Cara,

First and foremost, Cara, great job. Now for the jokers...I'm not sure what any of this sign of the times crap is about. I thought Cara got it absolutely right. People love to talk about themselves, and the only thing better than finding a place to talk about yourself is finding a place where people "care" about what you have to say. That's the illusion most MySpacers are under. Personally, I say no MySpace...It's for losers... GO FACEBOOOK!! WHOOOOOOOO!!!

M. Cook

I would think that most

I would think that most intelligent people out there could see through that rather weak analogy. But I don't know what most intelligent people are thinking or seeing through. It's probably got to do with sex.

Antonia Dwells

You crackers me up :) :) :)

You crackers me up :) :) :) I love the perspective on this. I especially love the mall scenario. What a hysterical visual that provided me with. Thanks for the chuckle. Good job ! The Strumpet ;)

I'm not saying its not a

I'm not saying its not a problem, or that its not wrong, but simply that its not a problem specific to TODAY. Its a problem of human nature. And...most intelligent people out there consider the internet, or at least free sites where anyone can post whatever they want to say, the modern equivalent of a bathroom wall. This site and my comments/posts most definitely included.

It actually does have to do

It actually does have to do with the world today when, instead of simply talking about ourselves, we're largely making ourselves appear more attractive, more intelligent to other people when, in fact, we're all the same as everyone else. Talking about yourself is one thing, we should all do that in an effort to keep our confidence. It's another thing to, oh I don't know, show off your boobs in a picture when you're premenstrual and they're huge, but in reality, they're only that big one week out of the month. It's false advertisement. There is a difference between calling the number on the men's room wall....with that statement alone, you pretty much know exactly what you're getting.

Well...it wasn't.

Well...it wasn't.

Antonia Dwells

It has nothing to do with

It has nothing to do with "the world today." Read all the classic self-development books out there, some of which were written decades ago, and they'll all tell you the best way to be liked by someone is to get them to talk about themselves. Its human nature, not a sign of the times. As far as meeting people from Myspace and being surprised that they're not what they say they are...that's on the level of calling the number in the men's room that says "For a good time" and complaining that it wasn't a good time.

Myspace

See, that's kind of the problem with the world today, no? Everyone does love to talk about themselves and puff up their feathers to make themselves appear more beautiful. Have you actually ever met someone from Myspace? I have. Only two of them were what they purported to be. The other three were not. And now, more and more, we have to worry about kids being taken advantage of through Myspace. It's fun for a while but the facades fade very quickly when you are a real person.

yes.

amen. you're on to something here... shut it down! God deems widespread vanity as one of the signs that the world is coming to a close. ..only vanity has been around since the start of it all, right? well, look farther than Myspace and we have worldwide tension, rumors of wars, and more natural disasters than ever before.... God is letting us know that it's time to get on our knees and pray. my suggestion is, my friends, read the bible. May God be with you all. Sebastian.

Sebastian.

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