When is it time to say….

The best time to say happy birthday on facebook, is later in the day after everyone else has. That way everyone else (hopefully hundreds of people) will see your return response. Now that may seem narcissistic to some extent. But isn’t that what has been driving the popularization of social media?

Why else would any social network posts, have so little real content in and around them? I mean people post every little detail of their lives,..” I’m feeling tired! Going to bed.”…”off shopping at the mall after I call in sick. Let’s meet up.”…”D car died, the kids are crying, and I need a drink.”…” My cheating husband ran off with his girlfriend. Needs money! Selling his 2010 BMW less than 30K on it—$100.00 or best offer! Not a joke, just revenge!”…”That’ll teach that lying sack of S***!” You’ve probably read something like that too, along the way?

Psychoanalysis says, having an undue fascination with oneself while
tending to derive erotic gratification from admiration of one’s own physical or mental attributes–is what it is to be vain. It should also include, posting every unimportant going’s on about ones life on social media for the point of popularizing oneself, is what is to have an out of control vanity.

Yet with every little detail of your life posted 24/7 on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, snapchat, text messages, and or E-mail, just to name a few. Somehow that doesn’t define today’s social networking as being totally selfexsorbed, or a society addicted to vanity?

A friend posted, or should I say “Facebook” posted on his behalf that it was his birthday today. He kept checking his smartphone, which occasionally vibrated against the table top with every new birthday wish from social media. Our conversation was interrupted so many times not only with the constant hums of his social notifications, but also with his hunt and peck style of return responses.
” For Pete’s sake man, let the socially distant nudgenik’s alone for awhile.” Letting him know just how alone and distant I was starting to feel even though I was sitting across from him.

“Nudgenik’s!” He glared back at me, as if to say–it’s my birthday how dare you. He then added, “Are you jealous? Or is it because I have friends other than you?”

I casually let out a slight giggle. “What? Ha! You’re comparing Electronic greetings now…..for personal friendships?” He nervously fidgeted in his chair a bit.
“I would rather have the real deal over electronic interactions or greetings.”

“It’s the new age man. You may not like it but you have to except it. It’s here to stay.” He said while glancing back to his phone barely making any eye contact with me. I just contributed that to somewhat being embarrassed over the direction of our conversation. Hehehe, I was giggling inside, what Conversation? If you can call it that?

“Have it your way then.” I excused myself to go to the bathroom. It was a lie. I walked straight out and to my car, got in, looking back towards the window seat we were sitting, And that’s when I noticed he didn’t even flinch, not a bit. There he was still looking at his phone, typing. Typing, texting, with an angelic look of a little girl. Such an unbecoming look conning from a large guy.

I watched for what seem far more time than it took for anyone to go to the bathroom, still he remained statuesque, and glued into position.

I thought to myself, a Happy birthday man!

Not 5 minutes later, and several miles of distance down the road, he called. I pushed the accelerator a bit harder wondering if I should answer the phone? Even if I would have answered–what could I have said to get the point across…..