07 February 2008

yearbook.facebook

My dad gave me his old yearbook this week, Pius X High School, Lincoln, Nebraska, the year was 1973 as Simon & Garfunkel serenaded the youth of a generation...

My dad and my mum (crazy hip then)...


My dad's best friend Bob Haggerty and his little sister Rita (she's adorable)...
Don't know these people, but wish that I did–classic awkward yearbook pics! Fantastic hair!...
This is my dad the year he went to state for cross country. I love 70s running culture. Sweet short shorts, sweet headbands, though this pic is lacking in sweet mustaches  (Go Pre!)

I've been thinking a lot about the youth of my generation vs. the youth of generations before us. It's funny,yearbooks seemed so epic then. Yet today, Myspacers and Facebookies and Bloggins have taken over. The individual has absolute control of how we are represented to the world. In 1973 you had one, maybe two pictures by which your peers would remember you. Now, we make sure our peers remember us in the way we see perfectly fit. In 1973 you couldn't upload that flattering shot of you in the mirror (I have one of those), or that really awkward one that's funny because its ironic. Bad hair day? Eyes closed? Zit on your nose? Tough shit, man. It was one picture, against the same slate grey background, cropped the same, lined up all in a row. You couldn't update a  new picture of you every week. You had no space to list your interests, your favorites, no chance to impress people with your vast knowledge of...Googling. Is all this self-representation of my generation healthy? Or is it creating a generation of narcism, short attention spans, devoid of actual human to human relations? I love Google, I love the internet, and I'll admit I like this blog. But some days I think we need to remember that being an individual is unimportant. We need to not constantly focus on what sets us apart from the rest, but rather, focus on what we all inherently have in common. I am nobody, who are you?

1 comment:

Monstertoke said...

also nobody. When I die no one will remember me for anything I did, or made. I have thought that recently, we set ourselves apart as being so different. Everyone has insecurities, everyone feels alone, no one knows what they want to be when they grow up. good thoughts in this post, I agree with most. But I also think it is good so stick out....march to the beat of your own drummer. etc....also those yearbook pictures are amazing. make rule: one new myspace/facebook picture a year. and one a year from each activity you partook in during that year.

unnecessary...maybe. hard to do!!
i am writing A LOT i apologize.

didnt' make it to class this morning, hope mcdunn was good.