I’ve joined the social networking movement and what an interesting ride it is. One thing I’ve been wondering is when we take the time to fill out a profile, add icons, list interests … are we learning more about ourselves?
Self-awareness is supposedly a sign of good mental health. Sure, there are plenty of needy, narcissistic, and unaware people profiled on these pages who are total strangers to good mental health. But there are also plenty of people who genuinely want to connect and who work to create a persona that relays their interests, dreams, and passions. They take time to list the books and movies they love, the music they listen to, the quotes that mean the most to them. They join groups that further define them.
As the author of Seeking Sara Summers (.com), I feel a genuine need to connect with my readers and with other authors. Writing is an isolating endeavor and when I finish for the day, I want to connect with a community. Sometimes this connection happens with neighbors, sometimes with friends in my same town, or friends on the phone. But I also have a desire to connect to a bigger community—a global community. Luckily, this is becoming easier and easier.
We live in interesting times. We make friends now with people we will probably never meet in person, but still we will connect because it is a primal need for human beings. Connection, as far back as the cave men and women, meant survival.
Even today, I think we all want to find our clan. Those people who can understand and appreciate us. We all want to find the place where we belong. Does social networking help us find each other? Does it help us evolve? At its best, I think it does.
See you on Facebook …
