Alone, together in a social media world
You have notifications, but not necessarily more existence
It's a staggering statistic coming from the United States: 15% of men and 10% of women claim to have no close friends. This means that a significant minority of people has no friends at all. In France, according to IFOP, about 9.5 million French people live in chronic loneliness, whether endured or sometimes chosen. Several explanations may come into play: new work organizations, the destruction (or recomposition) of "solid" references such as family or various places of worship. Nevertheless, by once again placing the burden on the individual, a form of anomie can be reinforced.
Great.
Paradoxically, the number of "social" notifications has never been so high. On average, a user receives 46 notifications per day on their phone, totaling 16,790 per year. This figure is probably well below reality depending on life paths, of course.
Certainly, the causality is not linear between loneliness and notifications; however, this ecosystem gives rise to new balances and even new power dynamics: some received notifications carry more weight than others, while the sender responsible for these notifications has an advantage, a privilege over others. Not to mention a more significant existence. We will come back to this in the upcoming essay (what a teaser!).
This reminded me of a common story about an extraordinary being. Alex passed away a few days ago, an accident on the Route du Rhum. Sadness first came like a boomerang through messages, then by discovering the beautiful tributes on Facebook walls. As if, in a way, it was a revenge of those who devour and give to life: there will now always be someone to witness and leave a small recording of your story, regardless of the algorithms.
Expression of the day: Goblin mode.
The highly respected British publishing house Oxford University Press has designated its word (or expression) of the year 2022. And "Goblin Mode" has just won the vote. The New York Times partly summarizes its meaning: "a type of shamelessly decadent, lazy, indifferent, or voracious behavior, usually in defiance of social norms." Beyond the impact of video games and how the internet gives new ramifications to European folklore, it's interesting to see the evolution. In 2013, "selfie" was the word of the year, meaning sharing oneself with others, a small message in a bottle that has a good chance of being seen. Ten years later, the selfie gives way to hedgehog-like users who are eager to curl up.
The amazing links
What would celebrities who left too soon look like today? An artificial intelligence has had fun creating portraits. Bewildering.
In 2016, in the excellent Paris Review, Wei Tchou already anticipated that one day the emotional postures conveyed on social networks would lead to a form of saturation, and a person's reliability would soon be measured not by their ability to transform their emotions into a scenic performance. We are still far from that, and yet the goblins are lurking!
See you!