its wednesday, am im STILL feeling super hyped up from the paramore concert. its like i can still see the band jumping around on stage and giving one helluva performance, with the whole crowd singing along to every song. i can still hear the awesome rifts and cheers when the band started on one of their signature songs. my god, i know ive said it a couple of times already, but really i cant think of any experience which even remotely compares to that awesome night.
righto enough of that.
i met with jaesh on monday night for a couple of beers at sixth avenue. we chatted for a bit, catching up with each other and discussing topics ranging from the indian communitys plight to my thoughts on singapores more murky side. it was very refreshing. when suddenly, he developed a craving for the wings at hooters. so i said heck im not doing anything tomorrow, lets go clarke quay.
polishing off our guinness, we hopped in a cab and made our way over. unfortunately, hooters had closed by then, so jaesh was going near mad from his insatiable urge for hooters wings. luckily, there was this really good kebab place around the corner where we chowed down on some hefty turkish delicacy. it was super tasty, although expensive at 8 dollars a piece. but whatever, it was worth it.
checked out the new burger king place that set up in clarke quay since we didnt have any further plans. it was cool, giving off a comfy, diner feel to it. definitely better than a macs or kfc. a good place to recuperate and get your bearings after some hard partying.
retired home soon after, he had a poker game to get to and i was actually still damn tired from the paramore concert.
alright, lets move on to the gist of todays post: trends and why i dislike them.
two parts to the following post. the first part will explain why i stay as far away as possible from facebook, twitter, myspace and various other social networking sites. the second will talk about why i purchased my new sony ericsson handphone instead of an iphone or blackberry, which seems to be all the rage these days.
starting off, i have a strict outlook regarding online social networking: that is it is negligible and redundant in a functional, outward society. notice i say ONLINE social networking. i have no qualms about meeting new people in clubs or at events, mainly because it INVOLVES MEETING PEOPLE. not "poking" them or "writing on their wall". come on, seriously. they say that with facebook you can keep track of current friends, renew old friendships and make new friends. complete bullshit!
theres a reason why friends who you lost contact with dont speak to you anymore. BECAUSE THEYVE GOT OTHER THINGS TO DO. dont kid yourself, youve already got your own people to hang out with, why try to say hi and pretend to care? all they currently mean to you is a smiling photo and an online, self authored description. enjoy who you have around you, and IF these old friends were meant to be close to you, life WILL bring them back. in the mean time, stop fucking around on a website trying to rejuvenate long dead relationships. waste of time.
then there are those who say oh my friends are going australia or uk, facebook will help me stay in touch with them.
uh huh.
i think such people are utter retards. honestly? thats how you intend to keep in touch with your close friends who are going overseas? is that how shallow your friendship is, such that a message or smiley face sent through AN INTERNET WEBSITE is favourable to a phone call or even skype? a true friend knows that BECAUSE of the distance in between friends, whats important is the human touch, or something as close to it as possible. hearing a friendly voice, even once a week for ten, or even FIVE minutes is SO uplifting! compare that to logging on and seeing a friggin message waiting for you. with winks and xoxos. common sense lah.
coming to the last point on online social networking which is in my opinion probably the MOST ridiculous: making new friends.
poking, winking, smileys and heys. thats how you start a "conversation" to add someone on your friends list and hopefully meet them in real life. absurd! if you want to meet new people, go out with friends more often so you can meet THEIR friends, walk up to that cutie at the bar or at a coffee joint and introduce yourself or just be friendly to the people you meet at school. THATS how you forge new friendships. and its the healthy way! if anything its clear that sites like facebook are DISCOURAGING active social activities, providing a cheap and unnatural method of commuting!
BLARGH!
now, lets continue shall we.
iphones are good because of the thousands of apps it has, making life on the go easier and more entertaining. definitely for people around my age, because it combines an ipod with a handphone for the sake of convenience.
blackberrys standout feature is the messenger service it provides, which allows you to freely text anyone else who owns a blackberry anywhere in the world at no cost. its made more for businessmen due to its services, but since so many youngsters are getting it nowadays, it seems prudent to purchase one so you can enjoy free messaging.
either phone is a great investment.
for me though, a phone is for three things: calls, messages and taking pictures. the last because your phone is always with you(unlike a camera) so you can always capture significant moments without hassle. thus, all the extra stuff that the iphone and blackberry provide are nifty, but ill stick to the simple stuff with my sony ericsson. internet should be kept to the computers, and music in the mp3s.
in conclusion, this is a strongly worded post because thats just how strong i feel about such matters. im not someone who likes to dwell, to ignore progress and cast disdain on others for moving ahead with times. i just think if somethings not broken, why try to fix it? we as people have been getting along and communicating just fine without online social networking. and someone can still keep in touch with friends with a rusty old nokia model perfectly.
thats all for now. tune in next time for a special piece im featuring, another reveal on singapore societys unnoticed and unwanted people.
Random Internet Commenter:
"First!"
