On the Nature of Love and Personal Boundaries

I actually have a lot of boundaries, yet most people don't even seem to be aware of the vast majority of the personal lines that really shouldn't be crossed to begin with. But then... I guess I really do understand.

For example, Facebook has finally, after God knows just how long, added a "care" reaction to the list of "like" options. Me, I have firm boundaries, but I tend to either like something or someone or... I just plain don't.

So in most cases, rather than simply clicking "like," I more often go for the "love" option. I mean, something doesn't have to be the best or most professional photo ever taken for me to see the genuine effort, or sheer sentiment that went into the compulsion to publish certain content via social media.

Likewise, someone doesn't have to be the best looking individual on the planet either for me to "love" their picture. I mean... there are a lot of ways to love people, and the world at large, you know. So it's often wise not to read too awful much into just about anything at all.

However, clicking "love" on someone's publicly shared content unfortunately creeps some folks way the heck out. Especially some women and girls, I've noticed. And, even worse, if you're a guy who clicks "love" on a male friend's new profile picture, said fellow heterosexual, manly dude may just... you know, get the wrong idea.

Ahem.

So, okay, okay! Don't flatter yourself too much. Also, by the very same token, don't assume that everyone out in cyberspace is a pervy little "wanker" who has nothing better to do than fall in Facebook "love" with little old you. Or me... or whomever. I mean... you did share that content publicly, did you not?

And yes, I know that negative attention is often better than no attention at all, but... come on! Everyone has responsibilities, everyone has "agency." Absolutely everyone. Even folks who seem to have absolutely no clue whatsoever that what they're really doing is... well, typical attention-seeking. But hey! We are talking about "social" media, are we not?

Ahem.

So, really, honestly, if I click "love" on a social media post it almost always means that I think the content deserves more than a simple "like." But that doesn't mean that I'm a stalker, or that I think that anyone on Facebook is the second coming of Jesus Christ himself either. I'm just a really sincere guy in most cases. And... that's about all there really is to it, I'm afraid.

On the Nature of Postmodernist Devolution

Unfortunately, these days, most people can't even be bothered to read a paragraph or two at the top of a typical social media post, let alone write a good old fashioned letter (or even an email, much less a few coherently worded sentences in a simple chat session) to a friend or relative.

In Medieval times, Christian churches, and later, cathedrals, had only just begun to be filled with art and various forms of  religious iconography (such as stained glass depictions of Biblical stories and statuary to venerate Christ and other important figures) in a concerted effort to educate the largely illiterate masses who could not yet even read the scriptures.

In those days, in fact, churches and monasteries were not just centers of worship, but tended to be the only places, outside of the royal court, or the homes of the most affluent, where the laity (the common man) could actually go to learn to read and write. Of course, we've come quite a long way since then. At least we like to think so anyway.

That's why, in fact, all the best 19th century literature, for just one example, tends to be rather lengthy, even wordy, and full of verbiage that, nowadays, in the world of quickly and easily digestible pop-culture entertainment, tends to make many a "modern" man's head spin by sheer comparison.

I fear therefore, that as a species, the human race may actually be digressing when all most folks can be bothered with is the mere seconds it takes to scroll past pretty pictures on Facebook; a veritable cornucopia of visually oriented stimulation that usually incorporates only a single sentence or two, and thus conveys but the simplest of ideas, often expressed in a mere brief quote at the very best.

And worse yet still, quite often, even these colorful "memes" tend to have absolutely no punctuation, or may even be full of grammar and spelling errors, to boot. So much for human "social" progress, eh?