Probably Productive Time

In case you've not deduced it yet, I fancy myself a writer. I know the clues leading to such a conclusion were sparse, and I'd hate to think you were still wandering aimlessly in your missive to figure out why I was put on this planet. (Rest assured, this is the only planet I've burdened with my presence.)

So Friday afternoon, I engaged in a serious discussion about the value of Facebook. My co-worker is closer to retirement age, and he doesn't understand how people can waste so much time updating people with "I'm going to do the laundry," "The clothes are in the washer," and "Thank God for stain removers." I agreed that the consistent status changes announcing every trivial event was overwhelming in volume and underwhelming in substance. I also don't use FB for games, discovering which of Snow White's seven dwarfs/how many 1964 album covers I can identify/learning what my name says about my personality type. While I am having fun with Gilthe Ghoul, I really only use my main profile for chatting with friends. (And, of course, comparing my number of friends with others to inflate my superiority complex.)

My argument was if people weren't wasting away on FB, they'd be sitting on their couches watching crappy TV programs. Which was where I believed the perpetual updating stemmed - our heightened sense of voyeurism. With over a decade's barrage of "reality" programming, people have determined their importance by parodying themselves (or, in most cases, being a pitifully laughable character that is themself). By twitting/incessant posting, they develop the belief that other people care about Downy's ability to remove strained carrots from a polyester blouse.

In other words: if people weren't devolving on FB, they'd be eroding from TV. My co-worker was disappointed, nearly appalled that society could let so much valuable time go to waste when they could be doing something worthwhile. Like what? Working out? Is it for health or vanity? Sports? Again, upon what foundation? Although we agreed that people create more memories from sports and face-to-face interaction than they ever will online. I can't think of a single instance where I've resurfaced a chat... "Do you remember when you typed....?" Nope.

After a solid 30 minutes of back-and-forth, he brought up how he's finishing his CPA license/degree/certification/shows how good my listening skills are. He recently attended law school - just for the hell of it. Didn't finish, but put two years in to get a better idea of how the legal mind operates. The more I learned of his escapades, the more I realized he was one of those people.

And I am not.

After all, the time I'm using writing this blog could be better invested in writing a novel. That way, someone else would have my book to read on the couch while their body and mind atrophies. My little contribution to the worsement (opposite of betterment?) of society.