[The following post comes to TKBB from first-time contributor Dana. It's always refreshing to mix some insightful writing in with the critique of campaign photos.]
In this era of overexposure, when a simple google search can instantly yield dozens of photos of celebrity vagina flashes, social commentators are quick to expound on the dangers of Too Much Information. Indeed, the culture of full disclosure is nowhere more evident than in the frenzy over Sarah Palin and her wild and crazy family. While TMI is a new problem in mainstream media, the youth of this country have long been addicted to over-sharing. Allow me to present Exhibit A: The Facebook Status Mini-feed.
Cloistered amongst inside jokes and references to drug use, the political status update reigns supreme.
This year, teenagers born in 1989 are eligible to vote. These same teenagers have had access to cell phones and instant messaging almost as a birthright, and have had facebook accounts since high school. Even though this will be the second time that I vote in a national presidential election, I too have relied, at least partially, upon the internet as a forum of “self-expression” since 8th grade. Back then, my friends and I judged people by the color of their font and the content of their AIM profiles. While the technology has changed, the urge to please, and judge, via personal manifestos online, has never gone away.
The facebook status minifeed is another version of the AIM away message, writ large. One entry lasts all week, and stays with you even after you shut down your computer. And while many use the status tool to let their friends know they are “doin’ homework” or “in Cancun for Spring Break 08 HELLZ YEAHHHH!!!!!1!1!!!”, I have noticed an interesting trend that proves the youth of our nation are not entirely self-obsessed. Maybe.
In the past two weeks, after the “watching Michael Phelps make America proud” statuses started to disappear, an entirely new and far more intriguing stream of statuses began to appear on my minifeed. One friend “is Obama 2008!”, another “is laughing at the Ticker on CNN’s website: “Fred Thomas Skewers Obama”….Righhhht”, and yet another “is haunted by the thought that mccain might get elected, kick the bucket, and leave us with president palin. eek.” Interspersed with pro-Obama messages are those that announce their author “is a big fan of sarah palin” along with another who “is wondering why people are questioning Palin’s ability to be a good mother while VP but not Obama’s ability to be a good father while pres?” If only the media could seize on this. Suddenly, it seems as though the status minifeed has become a forum for open political discussion, a place where the plugged-in, narcissistic youth can downplay their own egos and make statements for a cause greater than themselves. Right?
Wrong. While it may be refreshing to see political statements on status feeds, do not be fooled. These posts are much about self-aggrandizement as they are about politics. I know- I wrote one myself! My current status explains that I am “unimpressed with the Republican convention’s poor production values and hate-filled speeches…but why listen to a Prius-driving pinko-commie liberal Jew?” I wrote it in response to the posts of others on my friends list, in what has become somewhat of a silent arms race. Not only does my status complement my facebook interests, which include “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “the Jeeves stories by P.G. Wodehouse,” but it also acts as a big “fuck you” to my conservative friends. Simultaneously, it allows me to gain the respect of my like-minded facebook users, many of whom echoed my general disdain in supportive wall postings.
I have donated money to my campaign of choice and will continue to talk to friends and relatives about the issues at stake in this election, either in person or on the phone. One thing I will not do is take political status updates seriously. They are as much about image and social status as any other manifestation of my generation’s need to self-promote…and self-obsess.
