When I was younger, I did not understand the philosophical question about forests and trees. When asked by an older, wiser family friend “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear, does it still make a noise?” without hesitation, and with a little snobbery, I responded “YES!” Why wouldn’t it make a noise? The idea of a silently falling timber seemed ridiculous, and while I understand the premise of the question now that I am much older and a little wiser, I have not changed my answer.  

Many people question reality – just look at the popularity of sci-fi – and believe that if you can’t see it, you don’t know that it exists. This state of unbelieving does not solely apply to trees, but also to the nature of the universe. Others take the stance that if you know the tree makes noise in your presence (though I have not personally ever seen a tree fall in a wood, not to split hairs) then the nature of the falling tree will not change with the absence of a witness.

I do think that the old question deserves a modern twist: perhaps, “If you don’t post it on Facebook, does it still count?” If one does not record one’s athletic training nuances, one’s culinary successes, one’s affections and angers, do they still exist? Such a premise seems ridiculous, but the behavior of Face Book Friends (FBF) would suggest that perhaps I’m wrong.

User-created content combined with social media is an interesting expression of one’s self, but one cannot assume that it is real. The identity one creates relies on the pictures, updates, news articles, political cartoons, and general information that one chooses to share with friends, friends of friends, family, and people who would otherwise have been forgotten in the passage of time.

Which isn’t to say that the connectedness that social media provides isn’t interesting, amazing, and at times very useful. Reading articles posted by people with similar interests, following the accomplishments of friends, and stalking exes are all made infinitely easier than before this technology was available.  

I can’t help but laugh, and at times shake my head, at the bombardment of personality that comes in the form of a news feed. Posting a good (or not so good) picture of one’s weekend is understandable, even interesting, but an album of 35 photos dedicated to a 20-mile mountain bike ride borders on the ridiculous. No one has the attention span to make sure you took a picture at every overlook.

Which leaves FBF to consider, how much riding was actually done?

Another source of aggravation is the sorority sisters collage: Oh, you went drinking? At a bar? In Denver? Wow, didn’t need 10 pictures of the same people with the same smiles and the same colored highlights to understand just how much fun you had in the big city.

 
Do you know what I do when I’m having fun? Not Facebooking.

Declarations of love via public posts also make me squirm, but that can be traced back to Irish Emotional Suppression, or IES. It’s a very serious condition wherein sober affirmations of affection are strictly forbidden and even become suspect. Sadly, no cure has yet been found for IES.
And while babies are cute, I’m not arguing that, a series of pictures of sleeping babies isn’t very interesting unless you are the child’s parents. Just saying.

So why do people feel the need to share with everyone their intimate and should-be private thoughts on a publicly posted social network? Our society has voyeuristic tendencies, from magazine covers to what is considered “breaking news.” Pictures of celebrities eating spaghetti sell for top-dollar, and those pictures sell magazines. Even our judiciary system relies on the testimony of witnesses to corroborate a story. When people become obsessed with seeing and being seen, what happens to that lone tree in the woods? Where is the silence? What is real?

I’m not good at taking pictures. I often forget my camera, if it’s not already broken. If I bring a camera, I seldom remember to take pictures. If I stop to take pictures, and they actually turn out, then I end up with an extremely limited selection of mediocre photos. I like taking and modifying with fun tints the pictures that I do take, I like documenting time with friends and family, but my overall focus is usually on what I’m doing.  Perhaps if I had better equipment and superior skills, my priorities would change.

And that is the benefit of a dumb-phone and a broken camera – living in the moment. Boating, running with friends, racing the dog on skis, or biking solo, my limited technology allows me to enjoy the isolation of nature and the personal tasks I assign myself. There are a finite number of minutes and hours and days given to us, why not spend time chasing passions rather than publicly affirming them? Go for a walk in the woods. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a falling tree.

– Maggie Casey