I think you could summarize the entire story with "Stop trying to capture the moment in your smartphone, and start LIVING IN the moment."
Stop externalising your life
151–160 of 160 posts
Re: Stop externalising your life
#152My point requires a back story, but I think its worth it: A few years ago several teenagers loitered everyday outside my apartment window. Sometimes they skateboarded, other times jumped off a wooden ramp with their bikes, but always did they curse and swear. Especially one kid, who was the ringleader. Every second word was the f-shot. An angry kid. So one summer evening, as I was trying to get work done but hearing…
Amazing and inspiring story, thanks for sharing.
Re: Stop externalising your life
#153wow, cool blog. Let me share with some friends.
Re: Stop externalising your life
#154I appreciate where the author is coming from but is this really an issue? I mean, how big a problem is this really?
I would imagine most of us have more important things to do than spend our minutes uploading pictures to social media sites. I guess if you are the attention grabbing kind, it works but within my sphere of colleagues and friends I just don't know anyone that does this. And, yes, I am talking about technical people that understand what Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are.
Maybe I'm a minority but I suspect that probably not.
Re: Stop externalising your life
#155I started with Usenet and email back in the late 80s. When the Internet boom hit ten years later and everyone's mom had an email account, I spent years agonizing over people who were unable to quote a forwarded reply properly or who couldn't grasp the fact that Bill Gates wasn't going to be paying anyone for the amount of email sent around. But you know what? Most of those people have learned a decent bit of netiquet…
so the eternal september passes?
Re: Stop externalising your life
#156I like the effect this has on me. I look at Facebook at the weekend and see some friends were up hours before me to run up a mountain, others have gone into London for the day to see an exhibition then head to a restaurant. I stayed up late the night before watching (and of course, sharing) YouTube videos so missed the best part of the day, but now I see that I'm failing to live life. As a result I up my game and rather than have breakfast and lounge about I head out looking for interesting things to do to justify myself. . . then on Monday when I get a coffee and someone asks "What did you do this weekend" I'm saved of the infamous answer "Just chilled really", which is post Facebook world speak for "Nothing".
Now to wait for the up votes and ensuing rush of self-esteem. . . Anyone? ;)
TL;DR Subconsciously believing everyone's better than you forces you to up your game and thus get more out of life.
Re: Stop externalising your life
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can think of several reasons: 1. It would be insulting to do that. 2. Most people understand that as long as the flow of conversation is maintained, it doesn't really matter what else you're doing. People have conversations while doing other things all the time. 3. Doing something else while conversing with someone doesn't actually mean you're less interesting than that something else. It means that temporarily, th…
> 1. It would be insulting to do that. It's also insulting to not give a conversation your full attention, for some of us. If I'm trying to talk with you about something (as opposed to talking to you), I'm going to be insulted if you're checking your phone and otherwise broadcasting through body language and your inattention that "what you're saying to me right now is unimportant, and I would rather be doing other th…
Maybe I'm just a simple person, but I try to live by kindergarten-level ethics, like "two wrongs don't make a right."
Re: Stop externalising your life
#158Waiting for the pope: http://i.imgur.com/sNTmp4s.jpg In my opinion you miss a lot around you when you are constantly staring at the screen of your device. Two days ago I was sitting at a birthday party. The guy next to me constantly took pictures sending them with Watsapp. I never spoke a word to him because he was busy with his phone all the time. I'm still not sure what to think about that but I don't think I like…
Reminds me of houses with one antenna for each apt. A strange lack of coordination.
Re: Stop externalising your life
#159The life stream is really just the small talk of the social network. It's not particularly interesting but it enables the next step. Communities of practice and group action do rely on people syncing up their interests first.
Re: Stop externalising your life
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The Internet is only 20 years young Are you confusing "the web" with The Internet?
I probably am. Thanks for clarifying. I'm sure it tripped up several people. BTW, were you using either the Internet or the web before the early 90's? When have you used the Internet without using the web ? Are you this hard to communicate with in real life?
> BTW, were you using either the Internet or the web before the early 90's?
You mean "the 80's" then. No I was working on mainframes. Much more fun.
> When have you used the Internet without using the web?
Many many times. Usenet, FTP, telnet, bulletin boards etc.
> Are you this hard to communicate with in real life?
Given that my day job is being a System Engineer for a search company, one has to be pedantic to a certain degree - but you appear to be leveling a claim of my being difficult to communicate with due to a minor error on your part that was corrected by someone that can differentiate between the two. But to answer your question: No, I can be far far worse, if necessary :p