Generation X-hibitionist

With social networks popping up faster than you can tweet about them, I’m watching myself turn into a micro-blogging, status mongering, +1’ing exhibitionist. Evolution? Or ego-centric regression?

I consider myself a sane, rational person. Not so long ago, I would even have called myself private. But after my fascination with watching other people splash their lives across social networks turned into a career, I was forced - as they say in the classics to “piss or get off the pot!”

Now I find myself checking into foursquare before reading the menu of the new restaurant I’ve been waiting to try. Or watching dolphins with my nieces through the screen of my ipad so I can upload the video to youtube. A funny story can never just be left at the dinner table - its contracted, condensed and hash-tagged before the night is over. While this has been brilliantly marketed as social activity, I cant help but wonder if we’re not just burying ourselves in our own self-importance. Essentially becoming less social because we’re too deep in our own flurry of exhibitionism to really get out there and socialize.

Now I’m not saying I don’t still sit behind the safety of my screen and judge my online peers, but these days its colored by the desire to uncover something worthwhile in their posts for me to share. It just strikes me as odd that this culture of sharing our most inane moments has been dubbed as sociable. Narcissistic seems more apt to me.

When it comes to brands however, the whole social space starts making alot more sense. Companies are compelled to advertise. It’s the cornerstone of business. Market to create awareness. But how do you create awareness in a room full of people screaming their own content into the oblivion? The answer lies in giving them something to scream about. Something that will add to their self-made towers of pomposity. If a brand becomes personal, it becomes relevant, because then people can claim it as their own content. Personal or current - if a brand is the first to announce something, then they can add to the credibility of the content seeker. Which is good for the brand and good for the g(br)ander?

All in all, we’re a generation of content whores. And when we have nothing worthwhile to share, we share anyway. I had this brilliant idea to start a blog so I could share this idea with you…