He said, 'We are a nation of exhibitionists from "me" to shining "me." And what we really fear isn't that someone's listening; it's that no one's listening. This whole country is one big desperate cry for somebody to listen to "listen to me, photograph me, Google me, read my blog!" "Read my diary; read my memoir... .'
I would like to think that I'm not throwing myself out there for the sake of self-validation. And I can assure you there is not a single "reality" program on which I would consent to be a contestant, but I have shared my views on certain subjects here. And while I've maintained a bit of privacy inthat I haven't given my exact geographic location, real name, or photo, all of these things, I'm sure, could be discovered without a huge effort. Does that make me an exhibitionist? And if so, Is that a bad thing?
2 comments:
Yeah, this is something I've wrestled with myself. I've gone for long periods in which I'm purely amusing myself on my blog. And then I hit a patch where it just KILLS me that TVB isn't hanging out with the popular kids at the best table in the cafeteria. Yeah, it's stupid.
For the first year or so, I identified myself as just "Jim D." Then I decided to use my full name, something I'm ambivalent about at this point. If some long-lost friend found me, that would be cool. On the other hand ... being tracked down by a deranged member of a religious cult would not be (I took down a post for that reason). I've disclosed little personal info. But it's probably enough to find my house on Google Maps.
Face it, we're all filled with contradictions. I am painfully shy at times--I'm a total wallflower at parties. But I also like to act, and a good performance and a receptive audience is the biggest rush I've ever felt. Go figure.
On the plus(?) side, there are probably a passel of James Donahues in your neck of the woods.
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