Thursday, February 26, 2009

On 25 Things About Me...

In class yesterday the infamous "25 Things" on facebook came up and we all had a good time bashing the trend, but chuckle as I might I think that there is something to it. We're usually on the look out for commonalities with the people we meet and this translates nicely to social networks, eg. list your favorite movies, books, music... But, there just isn't a field for some things such as: what books you hope to finish but keep putting down or your latest obsession with sunblock etc. And that's what "25 things" is for - random facts I wouldn't otherwise know - creating a deeper connection.

These are the insightful, interesting, truly unique things about each of us that provide insight into who we are as people (at least in part) - and drive home the point that we're all a little weird and neurotic sometimes. It's no secrete that society constantly applies pressure to normalize us and bla bla - so I thought that it was a nice break from my day to see all the quirky things that my friends do and share my own oddities, such as obsessively playing with tape when I'm thinking or my secrete desire to get a dog despite the fact that I'm a self proclaimed a cat person. These facts let even my close friends get a better picture of who I am, and I enjoyed that.

In the end almost everyone did it, so I guess writing the "25 things" note ultimately amounted to nothing more than normalization and social pressure (oops), but I guess it doesn't have to be all bad?

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