"Enough about me. Lets talk about you ..what do you think of me?"

“It amazes me that we are all on Twitter and Facebook. By "we" I mean adults. We're adults, right? But emotionally we're a culture of seven-year-olds. Have you ever had that moment when are you updating your status and you realize that every status update is just a variation on a single request: "Would someone please acknowledge me?”
― Marc Maron, Attempting Normal     

     The human ego is a dangerous force. When humans fail to have their ego's attention appetite  fed enough  by others they eventually go on a feverish feeding frenzy. They resemble ravenous starving sharks in an ocean of scurrying fish or become like Anthony Weiner sexting his junk in a" desperately single" chat room.  No matter how saintly and pious we may portray ourselves we all have our proud moments a la Stuart Larkin, "Look what I can do!" Attention! Over here, please. Thank you. Modern technology and social media has provided us all with ample opportunity to voice our opinions and reveal our ugliest duck faces whether or not others want to see or read our BS. As a culture we have become more vain and  obsessed with ourselves due to social networking. And we are all guilty. At one time I belonged to three social media websites including Facebook, four work related networking sites, five freelance networks, Twitter,  and Google. Are you supposed to dread checking your email every day? We spend more time deleting junk mail and spam than responding to anything substantial..
      We are teaching our children to be self-absorbed, self- serving, self -promoting arrogant bastards just like their parents.  Adults are required to whore themselves on any number of employment/university related websites, Tweet thoughtful or amusing snippets of  daily existence and post endless photo streams of their adorable children, attractive mates or lovable pets for others to covet and admire. Whatever we think we possess we throw it at society like monkeys throwing poop. Here, take that shit and "like" it.

    On the flip side of our narcissistic tendencies we are also creating a culture of concerned advocates where  many teens and young people are more aware of local community and global issues. We are able to communicate and share ideas quickly and conveniently. We have access to unlimited online documentation, literature and information to assist in our own education. Technology has revolutionized advertising for business, fundraising and nonprofit groups. Freelance artists, writers and workers are no longer chained to a 9to5 cubicle. These are all incredible advances.

      Still, at some point or another I believe it's normal to be a little sick of yourself. It's normal and healthy to delete the Facebook account or shut down the Tumblr. We like to think we are utilizing these social media resources to effectively communicate with our families and friends. But are we really saying anything valuable besides "look at me?"  Why do we need people we barely know and "friend ed" on a whim to validate us when true validation only comes from within?  Are we keeping in touch because we truly love and care about others or are we just feeding that hungry shark?