social media | Esse Diem

I wouldn’t do it, but I don’t begrudge him his choice. Everyone deals with death in his or her own way. I hope he doesn’t regret this. It begs the question, is it best to wait to write about grief, or is the moment the truest time?

If You Have Five Seconds to Spare

Perhaps you’ve heard of NPR’s Scott Simon this week—he’s getting a lot of attention for tweeting his thoughts and observations as he sits at his mother’s deathbed.

As with any public figure’s actions, Simon is getting both praise and criticism. I read through the negative comments posted to the Los Angeles Times article—here’s a sample:

“That is just creepy”
“Ratings must have been down”
“This guy needs to seek mental help”
“Can’t even someone’s dying days be afforded some dignity?”
“Ghoulish. Disrespectful. Selfish.”
“Rather he used his Mother to garner favor and a story as well as pity.”

But what Simon is doing is not new—only the vehicle for expressing his thoughts is new. Books and essays, thousands of times over, have been written about a loved one’s death, and I hear little similar criticism leveled against that type of writing. So apparently the thing that is making people…

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You probably have considered the points covered in the following link before, but depending on what you do for a living you may not have considered it in as open and clear-cut a manner as you will after reading For Sale On the Web: You! : All Tech Considered : NPR.

Alec Baldwin's memorable speech in Glengarry Glen Ross

The writer, Dave Pell, is a San Francisco based, self-described “Web-addicted insider, investor and entrepreneur.” He has been blogging for more than a decade. The NPR post actually first appeared on his blog, Tweetage Wasteland. DANGER, Will Robinson: Unless you are so far geeked-up that it does not hurt your feelings even a little bit to be called geeked-up, be careful going over to Pell’s website. He is on a level of techno-mania I have not heretofore encountered. But that may be a good thing…..it’s up to you.

I digress. (I’m sorry, I blame Pell’s website.)

Perhaps the best line in the NPR piece linked above – which is considerably good — is a comment at the end by a reader named Bruce Smithhammer: “If you aren’t paying, you are the product.”

Let’s review: If you aren’t paying, you are the product.

Social media is for all intents and purposes free; that is to say, it is without financial cost. Many people I know regularly throw out the question to their connected universe, “Will you stay on Facebook if they start charging?” The results I’ve observed are usually evenly split.

In July 2010 I wrote on this issue on Esse Diem (full post here): “I worry that any language commoditizing human beings is destined for moral bankruptcy and ultimate failure.”

There is much to love about social media, blogging, and our brave new world; but never forget it is not free. How do you find yourself responding to the dynamics of using the easy and free techo tools Pell describes? No joke, a serious reflection on these issues may be the most important ethical and spiritual thing you’ve done for yourself in a long time. The long-term effect of these incremental dynamics is staggering.

As Robin Williams said in Dead Poets Society (see the previous post), “This is battle, a war gentlemen, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls.”

Just promise me you’ll think about it.

Image credit: WebLink Blog