Almost Unsociable

Right now, I am sat in the Sisters office taking my break. Its nightshift, and since I normally stay up late it kinda suits my sleep pattern, however, too much nightshift messes with your head. This is week 3 of predominately nightshifts and my brain works perfectly well at night, here at work, in the dark. When daylight hits my face, I have a vampiric reaction and my mind stops working. Driving is interesting when your brains not in it, but its one of those things you can just do without thinking about it (Please don't be reading this DVLA) aha.

Anyway, that wasn't my point, the point is, I take my break alone, sitting in a closed room with my laptop. I am being social... because I am on facebook.

Is that really social though? Its called Social networking, but do you get the ups and downs of a real relationship on the internet? I don't think I've ever laughed sitting by myself the same way I laugh sitting with my friends at a pub, but does that mean im putting on the laughter if I don't experience it alone, or does it mean that social networking and hanging out with your friends are hugely different. Im pretty sure most of you guys don't see that as a real question, but having friends all over the world, facebook can be the only real relationship you have, maybe seeing each other once or twice a year, or maybe every few years.

I'd like to think I would never choose facebook over real life encounters, but sometimes those encounters are worthless, boring and dull. Sometimes those encounters introduce you to knew people, people that become important in your journey though your life. So kids that sit inside on their computers through school, "talking" to their "friends" on facebook and MMORPGs are truly at a disadvantage being sold the lie that they are in fact social people. A lie they tell themselves to feel better about being called names at school. I don't know if when I was 14/15 I realised I wasn't making life easier for myself being that kid. But when I started to make friends and spend the whole summer learning backflips and other flips I knew how much I'd been missing. Those kids are victims of a lie, but at the time it doesn't matter because you believe it.

ANYWAY. What I was really getting to is facebook. It makes life so easy. Events, chat, even a way to show incoming acquaintances your deeper interests, even though you've met them once they can know a hell of a lot about you after 30minutes facebook stalking. And smart phones, they are amazing, so much information at your finger tips, no longer do you have to call your friends on a land line, to ask them who sang that song you've got stuck in your head, you just type the lyrics into your phone and you've got it, or with some apps, just hum it and BAM its there. What was life like without these wonders? Well... They coped just fine.

I walked to the pub for the first time in ages, an actual walk (I normally drive everywhere, because I love driving). But a walk, in the mid-temperature was amazing, headphones in (to my smartphone) and walking down the street to the music that keeps me as relaxed as I enjoy being. I sat down with friends and laughed, drank and talked. Walking home I met an acquaintance and some strangers, we walked and talked and honestly, encountering new people should never be done on the internet.

We live in this "smartphone/facebook" generation, but nothing actually beats losing the dependency on technology (except music) going a walk and sitting talking with friends and encountering strangers with no pre-conceptions or misinformation and really imposing yourself on "the world"