Sad Realization

Being on MySpace changed my life.

In the past couple of months, major events have been either fueled by MySpace or greatly assisted. While my e-mail accounts pile up, still I peruse MySpace bulletins and pages in the empty pursuit of learning a shade more about people I mostly barely know. It has come to the point where I am sincerely disappointed if someone I am looking for does not have one. How will I know when someone's birthday here? Are they in a relationship or not?

I've seen people who didn't even mess with it start as bottom feeders with 20 friends that they might have actually known to MySpace pros with flashy backgrounds and friend numbers in the mid-triple digits. I look to the side and see that I am closing in on 3,000 profile views but also thinking that people who have been on for shorter periods have totally surpassed me. I'm not too hurt by the results. I'm a boy and my display name isn't flashy like "Mr. Breast Specialist" (I kid you not). (Quick shot out to Coffee Bean's boyfriend for coming to the site to check for any mention of your girlfriend and your collection of evidence that I am trying to woo your girl back into my arms. Your totally understandable behavior is entirely healthy and shouldn't be questioned. Thanks for bumping up my numbers.) My background is actually the tiling of a modern art painting and I have a Nitzsche quote as my headline. I get that I am not exactly the MySpace target demographic.

So why has it sucked me in? Probably because it is a form of information and I am an information junkie. And I like learning about people and in some small way I have. The levels of disillusion and insanity amongst the general populace are quite telling. So are the levels of alcohol consumed and sex thought about. It's funny how petty people can be. And the qualitative ranking of friends is either stupid, hard, a waste of time, or all of the above.

That's good ol' MySpace. As dangerous as it could be, I'm not sure I want it to disappear. Even though lots of my friends are barely in reach, they still are there. And in 10 years when I happen to see a picture of their kid and comment them on their beauty and congratulate them, I will have access to a moment that would have probably never happened. Connection continues and the circle of life moves on.

Maybe I just need to go back to sleep.