Bad writing is an art form. Just as any other form of art it comes to some naturally. Others can only try.
What prompts me to write this particular blog is the deluge of highly creative but crass FB status updates. Of all other cyber spaces and print papyri that harbour such figments of creativity, this vexes me the most. Although a naive person can fall a victim to such literary terrorism anywhere: billboards, bookstores, TV and of course the internet. At the outset, I give you the choice to call it quits before you go through this personal intellection.
Does one start reciting all their woes when greeted with a polite “How are you?”. Shouldn’t real-world social etiquette guide one’s virtual manners as well ?
Is it too much to assume that FB users not take it’s provocation of “What’s on your mind?” too literally ? Evidently so. On good days the FB notifications about a few particular connections of mine, and always these chosen few, are merely badly written personal trivia, on bad days they range from banal observations about life, after life and everything in between to fatuous harangues about the same. One thing that these updates cannot of accused of is a lack of variety: a moral lesson, a literal word substitution of a proverb in a language other than English or a highly melodramatic romantic or pain filled palaver to name a few. A conspicuous feature of such updates is its yokel tone often tapestried with meaningless punctuation marks and smileys. Might I take the liberty of pointing out that any of it is hardly decipherable through the grotesque grammar, ludicrous language or puerile punctuation, I shouldn’t be accused of profanation. Surprisingly the responses to such updates are not few. Indeed they are welcomed with many a cheer!
I will venture my pet theory to explain what actually goes on. Their urge to write possibly stems from the need to communicate and the decision about the worthiness and style of the content resides with them and them alone, I admit. In most such cases, I believe though, the need to communicate is overshadowed by the need to proclaim that they can write. This blog with its declared objective of criticising the crassitude of personal social media updates had come with a fair forewarning. It is a semi private introspection. It is open to criticism and I would appreciate a counter critique. What does one do however to express a literary indignation and a mental concussion? There is unfortunately no dislike button on FB.
When I was young, reading comics or watching cartoon was not encouraged nor reading the Telegraph rather I would be encouraged to read children’s versions of the classics and The Statesman newspaper because of perceived differences in the quality of their language. That does not mean I missed my share of Tintin, Chacha Chowdhury (multlingual comic strip well known in India) or Tom and Jerry or the gloss finished Sunday Graphiti with Suhel Seth’s survival strategies. What was important, which I did not realise then, I do now, is that the sly reading induced a sense of guilt and simultaneously instilled a sense of taste. It is that taste which probably let’s one discern the good, the tolerable, the mundane and the violently sappy. Since what one reads influences what one writes, good reading and writing form a symbiotic pair. A bad show in either is usually a good indicator of poor taste in both. As a friend said “One needs to be acquainted with artlessness to be appreciative of good art”.
Social media networks were meant to socialise and connect with others rather than provide a real time commentary of your daily chores. One’s overall well being might be of interest to one’s friends but publicising the minute agenda of the day is probably extremely melodramatic for the purpose. For example, I believe the expected response to “I was too lost in thoughts of my love and hence burnt the curry on the stove” is lots of appreciation for the purported intensity of love or a justifiable portion of sympathy for the burnt curry. I can probably let such an update once in a while pass. Give me two of these a day and for days on end and you have one very grumpy friend. Just like not all films find a universal audience, all stretches of one’s personal anecdotes might not be apt for a social network. Along with the right of freedom in cyberspace one needs to accept their responsibility there too. It is imperative thus that one exits and knocks again on the content before hitting the “enter button “ and slamming it across the social network.
One can of course argue, why not just turn off these notifications? This when translated to the real world picture would be akin to not talking to the friend. I don’t want to be doing that. Also in this shrunk cyberworld I can never be sure where the messages get rerouted to me from. Also just as most FB users, in all honesty I confess to my acute gluttony of cynicism which keeps me hooked to infuriatingly inane and tantalizingly tempting drivel for a blog like this !!! :P (see I am trying to learn the art !!)
