First let me preface my "ouch" with this paragraph:
"...We don't like people who seem to be enamored with their own intelligence or strength or skill or good looks or wealth. We don't like scholars who try to show off their specialized knowledge or recite for all all of us their recent publications. We don't like businessmen who talk about how shrewdly they have invested their money and how they stayed right on top of the market to get in low and out high. We don't like children to play one-upmanship (Mine's bigger! Mine's faster! Mine's prettier!). And unless we are one of them, we disapprove of men and women who dress not functionally and simply, but to attract attention with the latest styles..."
I already had my toes, which were encased in my most recent favorite pair of new cute shoes, stepped on.
Maybe I'd better think on this for a minute.
But there was no time.
But there was no time.
It went right on, this book.
"Why don't we all like that? I think at root it's because such people are inauthentic. They are what Ayn Rand calls "second-handers." They don't live from the joy that comes through achieving what they value for its own sake. Instead, they live secondhand from the compliments of others. They have one eye on their action and one on their audience. We simply do not admire second-handers. We admire people who are secure and composed enough that they don't need to shore up their weaknesses and compensate for their deficiencies by trying to get compliments."
So I cocked an eyebrow at myself and asked myself the question,
"Is this you, Amy?"
And what does my love of social media say to this?
I'm still thinking...
1 comment:
i think there is definitely a part of it that is finding support and like mindedness in community. No more so on social media than in real life. Moms probably did the same things in play groups before facebook existed. And, of course, as humans, we love (at least a little) to get reaffirmed in our self worth by being agreed with or complimented. Should that be where we get our self worth, even if it is just a little bit? Of course not, but probably all of us do even if it is just a smidge. BUT
im getting to my point...I think for most of us that affirmation is a tiny part. It is more about being open and raw and connecting in a deeper way than we might in person. Getting support and help when we are down because we are more likely to tweet, "I am on the verge of a breakdown" than we are to call a friend. Telling people when we are overwhelmed, which indirectly helps them feel normal when they too are overwhelmed. It is sharing in the daily lives and funny moments of those we love that we would miss if we didn't have this social media.
I mean, that is what it is about right? Pooh, You make me smile. I love when you post on my page, not cause I need to know you love me to feel worthy, but cause I love you. And it is nice to connect with those you love.
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