Opinions

In the present world of Facebook and Twitter and Youtube, one is constantly bombarded by an overwhelming onslaught of opinions, from best friends and complete strangers alike. While self-expression is generally a good thing, it can also be tiresomely circuitous. Have you noticed that in the aftermath of big events publicized by the internet, people's reactions tend to follow a pattern? For example, when Michael Jackson died, there was the tidal outpouring of grief and tributes. After about a month, that got old, and people got irritated with the mourning. Then people got irritated with the people irritated with the mourning. Same with Whitney Houston. First everyone grieved ("RIP Whitney, we will always love you" etc. etc.). Then people criticized the grievers (). Then people criticized the critics of the grievers.
And now with the whole Kony business, it's the same old cycle--popularity, criticism, plus the added bonus of a drunk public humiliation tidbit (which I admit I almost shared).
I hate to say this, but sometimes I get tired of everyone expressing their opinions all the time. When I unconsciously scroll down to video comments on Youtube, I'm constantly appalled at how unnecessarily crude, pointless, or plain stupid they can be. What on EARTH would compel an individual to expend their energy by typing such things, to be seen by the entire world? Obviously some comments are great (I have yet to read a bad comment on TED.com particularly). But in general, it's pretty depressing.
I watched the Kony video a few weeks ago, and it was sad. But a tiny part of me wasn't convinced...maybe it was something in the speaker's voice, or the way they chose to present their claim, or the claim itself...that didn't seem completely genuine. Of course, it's a cause worthy of attention, like most causes in this world. And of course I love Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and Etta James and other celebrities whose deaths garnered widespread lamentation. But I think that before we publicize our opinions on such things, we should stop and think...is it really worth sharing? Can we get the same satisfaction by just telling ourselves and/or our friends?

I was saying this all to C, and he was like, "Jennifer, if reading other people's comments annoys you, why don't you just stop reading other people's comments?" And I was like, "...oh."
So I've stopped reading my Facebook news feed, at least for now. And I gotta say, it's pretty nice.