tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30224618.post4101900666907382858..comments2023-10-01T05:32:19.823-04:00Comments on The Mind's Language: Of Alternate RealitiesNeerajahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07813033087957007755noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30224618.post-84067332506951457972014-09-24T15:13:57.341-04:002014-09-24T15:13:57.341-04:00Taking a slightly wider lens to the issue: A heal...Taking a slightly wider lens to the issue: A healthy dose of narcissism is a necessary part of your psyche for several reasons. Especially in India, given a heritage of altruism and sacrifice, it's easy to overlook this. Secondly, there are studies showing people who stay up late at night tend to be more narcissistic, or certain introverts are more so, etc. It's a long list, not always accurate, and most of all -- very easy for us to latch on to the ones we agree with :). <br /><br />I do think "fitting in" to whatever cliques people belong to on their social networks is important to their happiness. And people become happy/ unhappy depending on the feedback/ exchanges within that network, not unlike in the real world. <br /><br />Having said all that, to me, the rise of overly public social sharing trickles down to a less-connected society, people who are less fulfilled in their relationships, and most of all, less aware that these changes have occurred. Whether that makes them more or less happy is hard for me to say.<br /><br />But the deepest loss of the selfie culture is that of introspection. <br />When everything can be published, liked, and validated in an instant, when every emotion in response to someone's opinion is represented by a "thumbs-up" or "favorite," we lose essential parts of our humanity, our connections with one another. SecondSighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08197882820971051607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30224618.post-36926594500781875722014-09-24T10:38:21.083-04:002014-09-24T10:38:21.083-04:00Not going around in circles. That is extremely wel...Not going around in circles. That is extremely well said. Sustaining such happiness is tough as you say. The same with money too. In a lot of cases, money can get us things that will make us happy, but sustaining it is tricky (but possible). In both cases, some people manage it very well though, and end up a lot happier than us "thinkers" who keep worrying about the World in general. One more interesting way to look at is comparing it to a gamble. In that case, I am just afraid to gamble, anxious about what will happen if I become too dependent on a transient thing. A few others gamble and win :)The Freudian Couchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02846833382241285200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30224618.post-69361865343123379382014-09-24T10:27:35.863-04:002014-09-24T10:27:35.863-04:00Adarsh thanks for the comment and for sharing your...Adarsh thanks for the comment and for sharing your thoughts! <br /><br />You make a great point - can we fake happiness to the extent that it actually becomes real to us? It's something I have been thinking about too... not necessarily "fake" happiness, but to compel ourselves to recognize ways to make ourselves feel good. If we force ourselves to see things through colored lenses and if we are boosted with external forms of appreciation and positive messages, it does brighten our mood, even if it's temporary. Can many such temporary moments make us feel happier? I think so, but we will be addicted to the drug - the likes and comments - to sustain the feeling. Then we start living in this alternate universe, relying on it to make us feel better. Such dependence can't be good, can it?<br /><br />I think if one treads the line carefully, they can indeed find much comfort and happiness, even if it is transient, through social nws. Sustaining it is another question. And if it makes them encourage their insecurities, one is surely heading down a path that is destructive to them in the long run. <br /><br />Sorry, I am going around in circles! Just another dump of my thoughts!<br /><br />Neerajahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05771903291361206507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30224618.post-7174444998414080202014-09-24T09:16:41.864-04:002014-09-24T09:16:41.864-04:00Wonderful post! I completely agree with you on the...Wonderful post! I completely agree with you on the selfie culture, but I wonder if social networks boost our desire to be validated, or if they are just an avenue to express that desire. After all, the desire to be validated has always existed. In fact, I wonder about all this a lot. I believe that it is possible scientifically to fake happiness and end up being really happy. So, even when I get exasperated at people doing the utmost to project that they are happy and that they love their lives, cars, jobs, wives and children, I wonder if they are right and I am wrong.The Freudian Couchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02846833382241285200noreply@blogger.com