Have you been tagged lately in a note on Facebook? Does the subject have something to do with memories? Have you responded, recalling those good old days of last week when you and your buddy got trashed and he lost his pants on McKinley?
If so, you have experienced the latest Facebook fad, which plays on our obsessions with nostalgia and social networking.
If not, it goes like this: Somebody posts a note titled "Memories" or something similar and asks everybody to comment with a memory they have of the two together. Then, they tag a bunch of their friends and they in turn do exactly that, fondly reminiscing about middle school crushes or embarrassing moments in puberty or something equally as boring to the outside world but hilarious to the responsible parties. It then spreads like wildfire as everyone else thinks, "Hey, that was fun, but wouldn't it be more fun if it was all about me? I'll post one of these and then I'll be the center of attention."
It is not unusual for people to be drawn to these types of activities. Why do we watch shows like "I love the '90s" where they talk about things we haven't thought of in years? We love to be tricked into thinking someone talking about snap bracelets and scrunchies is entertaining. Even if you never owned a Tickle Me Elmo or went to Nickelodeon Studios to be slimed, it makes us feel good just to know we could have.
This fad, however, raises an even bigger issue.
Think about your five- or 10-year high school reunion. Will it be as exciting to see all your old friends if only the week before you posted on their Facebook wall?
Ten years ago things were more difficult. You probably went years without speaking to your old friends from high school. Your memories with them had time to set in and had the opportunity to become truly nostalgic. You actually looked forward to seeing your old friends so you could talk not only about all you had done while you were apart but also look back and relate your new experiences to your old ones.
With social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, this is instantaneous. When something exciting happens to you, all you have to do is blog about it and everybody knows it happened. They get your words as well as your commentary on the issue.
Reminiscing is fun, but only because it reminds you of things you had forgotten about. It kind of loses its entertainment factor when you do it every week. Things like the "Memory" notes may be fun now, but after talking about your fun times with friends for so long you lose interest in those memories.
This is one of the many consequences of social networking.
I realize our lives will be vastly different from our parents' and I do not believe we should not let go of the obvious benefits just because recalling times with our friends might lose some entertainment value.
All I am saying is that we should spend less time focusing on what happened with our current or former friends in the past and should instead be trying to make new memories that we can share with those people too.
Christian Robinson is a junior telecommunications major and writes 'Overshare!' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper.
Write to Christian at cmrobinson@bsu.edu
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