A few weeks ago, I received a whatsapp slap from a former colleague, Sha whom I last saw in 2008. It read, "Woman, your Facebook performance is lacking!"
At first, I laughed - at the notion that my Facebook presence is regarded as some kind of "performance". Then, I felt guilty - for the fact that I've had selfishly gone AWOL for the most part since 2010 - on Facebook or not.
It appears that Facebook has taken popular culture centre stage, and there is little escape of it in order to remain relevant. Being on it and having The App on your mobile device is simply not enough - you have to actually check in regularly enough so that others can track your digital footprints at their will.
As Charlie Brooker (TheGuardian) wrote: when you lose touch with popular culture, it's tough to get back. Except for MasterChef Australia this season and American Idol last season, I have, like Brooker developed some sort of an aversion to anything that appeals to the mass. I gave up watching The Voice before the last blind audition ended - Jessica Sanchez has set too high a standard for amateur singing contestants! I haven't seen The Apprentice since my flat mate left two years ago and I certainly have no plans on wasting any time on The Shire. I also don't tweet and can't tell the Kardashian siblings apart. I can neither name contestants nor describe acts from the Australia's Got Talent show, even though Kyle Sandilands cracks me up usually... and Facebook, I almost don't use anymore. I'd never commit Facebook suicide, though.
Brooker suspected all of that has either to do with his departing youth or his spending hours being a Dad to his newborn. In my case, I'm a different kind of Facebook user, one who isn't quite willing to spend more time than necessary online because of the gazillion other things - mostly offline, that require attention. Still, I find Facebook handy as a directory at my fingertips, or a bulletin board for announcements and this currently works out better.
I suppose at the end of the day, I do appreciate the nudges I got from friends and those who care to see if I've had died in my sleep. Such lack of "performance" indeed deserves a good smack, and I hope to do better - on and/or off Facebook.
Quinh met up with Sha for lunch as soon as she wrapped up her full-time job a few weeks ago for a career break and she recently got back on to LinkedIn after a 9-year hiatus.
At first, I laughed - at the notion that my Facebook presence is regarded as some kind of "performance". Then, I felt guilty - for the fact that I've had selfishly gone AWOL for the most part since 2010 - on Facebook or not.
It appears that Facebook has taken popular culture centre stage, and there is little escape of it in order to remain relevant. Being on it and having The App on your mobile device is simply not enough - you have to actually check in regularly enough so that others can track your digital footprints at their will.
As Charlie Brooker (TheGuardian) wrote: when you lose touch with popular culture, it's tough to get back. Except for MasterChef Australia this season and American Idol last season, I have, like Brooker developed some sort of an aversion to anything that appeals to the mass. I gave up watching The Voice before the last blind audition ended - Jessica Sanchez has set too high a standard for amateur singing contestants! I haven't seen The Apprentice since my flat mate left two years ago and I certainly have no plans on wasting any time on The Shire. I also don't tweet and can't tell the Kardashian siblings apart. I can neither name contestants nor describe acts from the Australia's Got Talent show, even though Kyle Sandilands cracks me up usually... and Facebook, I almost don't use anymore. I'd never commit Facebook suicide, though.
Brooker suspected all of that has either to do with his departing youth or his spending hours being a Dad to his newborn. In my case, I'm a different kind of Facebook user, one who isn't quite willing to spend more time than necessary online because of the gazillion other things - mostly offline, that require attention. Still, I find Facebook handy as a directory at my fingertips, or a bulletin board for announcements and this currently works out better.
I suppose at the end of the day, I do appreciate the nudges I got from friends and those who care to see if I've had died in my sleep. Such lack of "performance" indeed deserves a good smack, and I hope to do better - on and/or off Facebook.
Quinh met up with Sha for lunch as soon as she wrapped up her full-time job a few weeks ago for a career break and she recently got back on to LinkedIn after a 9-year hiatus.
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