Attention Whores Anonymous

“There are so many attention whores out there, prostituting for people's acknowledgment” 
― Jason Myers, The Mission

This could totally just be me but are we not growing into a society of deprived attention whores? In introspection, I realize that even I, once quiet-natured and nearly invisible, have begun to allow how many likes, follows, and views I receive govern my self-worth. Was the world always like this or is this truly a product of the age of social networking?

It all started in good fun. Creating a profile "All about you" was a way to show the world who you are but when did we get to the point that we even thought people cared. For dating, it makes sense. . . it's like romantic advertisement, but does it work the same for who you want to be friends with?

I guess the real question is: Is it right for it to work the same for who you want to be friends with? Clearly, it does. I have "FB Stalked" hundreds of people for little to no reason at all "just because" and in some cases, their profile sometimes made me think "Hey, they seem like they would be a really cool person to be friends with." On the contrary, I have run across FB pages that made me re-think relationships that had already been established in real life. It's just the power of social media.

As an outsider, I like being able to go to a page "All about you" and gather information to make conclusions about you as a person. Yet, for the one making the page, isn't it narcissistic to create a whole website centered around you for no purpose other than to . . .  well, talk about you? 

To be completely honest, this post has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with the fact that I realize that I am now an attention whore. I take pictures, whose only purpose is to function as a profile picture. I find stuff that I like and immediately post to see how many other people will like it to. I write blogs that I think other people will find interesting so they thing that I'm deep and introspective (which I am). I am a complete attention whore. 

My question is. . . when does it end? Is there hope for a generation that is defined by how many virtual friends that they have? Does social media leave people as either in or out, with no in-between? I don't know the answers to any of these questions but I do think that I need help developing a rubric for "Signs of a potential Attention Whore." Maybe it will help, maybe it won't.

I realize that sometimes that one like by that special someone can make your day. . . or that random re-tweet can make you feel like your words have value. . . but what happens when no one likes it? Does that qualify you as unimportant or un-pretty?

I guess the other option is for none of us to care what anyone thinks and have little to no impact on anyone's life. Hmmm. . . that just doesn't sound as cool. Ahhh Well. . . 

AWA Out.