Enactivism

Not too long ago, I was using my smartphone and noticed a bizarre malfunction. I was emailing a new acquaintance for the first time. I had to copy their e-mail address to the phone's clipboard, then paste it into an e-mail. Imagine my surprise when the person's e-mail address was displayed as being so long it ran off the page. Not only was it not their e-mail, but it was a quote. I Googled the quote and found the source as being from this site. Not only did I have no recollection of ever accessing this website, but the quote popped up when I pasted it to my new friend's e-mail to send them a photo. 

The nefarious quote, taken from the website, read,

'Think before you Share' Don't describe or blog or tweet about the problem. Don't talk it over with your friends right away; let it stew a little in your mind so you can settle down a little. Sometimes, well-meaning friends will sympathize too much, which may only add fuel to your fire and get you even more upset.

 So, instead of allowing me to share a file, the person's e-mail address was replaced by a quote chastising me about the downsides of sharing micro-information. I might occasionally peruse WikiHow articles about topics related to "How To Iron A Dress Shirt" or some such quandary. I don't have an incentive to check out forums on modifying one's behavior when better resources exist. For example, one flip through Be Here Now is much more gratifying than an over-simplified list about keeping one's cool, buried under advertisements for weight loss supplements. That's not to say that there are worse uses for people's time than attempting to provide a service for those seeking self-improvement online. 

However, I received this blurb shortly after making a couple scathing posts about noticing connections between the fictional attitudes of communities, collective biases of individuals, and how these same tendencies become expressed in a hyperreal dynamic. Based on what I'm familiar with about group behavior, community is often formed at the exclusion of either locational characteristics or the projection of less desirable traits on convergent, or perceived to be, contradictory groups. I've studied the relation between geolocational identity and how this influences one's integration within pre-existing communities. 

Just interesting to think that this mishap happened right after blogging about how the Internet is supposed to make us feel more connected to one another, but it strikes me as rather impersonal. In addition to that, it is another realm of socialization. Therefore, it's not some sanctity that's positive or, at least, unbiased in structure. I am not surprised to find that I'd attract more unfollowers associated with the University of Michigan when blogging something negative about said institution. Quite frankly, people basically fear being associated with criticizing institutions that pay them, or seek to have this idealization of said place. It is my opinion that if one wants to truly improve the conditions of such places, then one has to speak about both what must and mustn't change.