I Dream the Internet Aesthetic

I've been sick the past few days. Which is actually fine with me, it forces me to treat a vacation properly. It also results in me having long philosophical arguments on why I should or should not join Facebook.

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a pretty rigid and minimalist aesthetic. I don't like accumulation of possessions, or complicated financial matters, or unneccessary expenses. I think I've been around people who get obsessed with routines or material possessions too much, and it's made me swing in the opposite direction. This aesthetic translates into my internet behaviour as well, even when something is not logical. For example, google reader. A great invention. Do I use it? No, because my internal aesthetician says it means I will be beholden to my webpages, that they will own me. It's really retarded.

So I'm facing my decision to never use social networking sites and debating whether to join Facebook. There have been several events that have forced me to reconsider: 1) A friend got angry with me for de-friending him (he was crazy) which made me a little paranoid about someone pretending to be me 2) Others have posted pictures of me which I can't view, but instead received taunting emails from Facebook that suck me into hyperlink hell 3) Christina in Denmark invited me to join, I miss her 4)My own mother today mentioned putting all her Aruba pics on Facebook.

The problem of course with joining now is I missed the boat to join when it was new and hip many months ago, and it's not yet late enough for me to be making a ridiculous anti-cool statement (sometimes learning about something years after it happens is satisfying, don't you think?) I suppose there's no fear that Facebook will take over my life since my internet access these days is sketchy. My desire to see what people from my high school are up to is becoming overwhelming.

Alright alright. I'll join in some minimal capacity, doing whatever it takes and nothing beyond.

I suppose you might be wondering why I even bother to keep a blog if so many internet activities bother my delicate sensibility. I'm not quite sure actually. Maybe because of how flexible and basic it is. It can be anything. I write into text boxes about simple things. No more complicated than taking a shit, and just as satisfying.