The Occasional Anthropologist

     Human beings.  They FASCINATE me.  I am in a perpetual state of observation, and one of my preferred subjects is people.  The choices they make, their behaviors, the way they interact with others.  It all makes for excellent analysis, and Buddha knows I never ignore an opportunity to analyze. Since my profession is essentially interacting with people and as an avid consumer of media, I have more than ample time to become the occasional anthropologist.  A common thread I have noticed amongst my observations is this idea of something that I will call "believing in one's own hype."  This sense of entitlement seems to be epidemic (or I read Perez Hilton too often, lurk Facebook more than I should, and watch too many iterations of The Real Housewives of Whateverville Anywhere USA...but I digress).  When did we start believing everyone should care about the minute detail of our lives and/or we are to be admired? 
     The irony that I am writing this on a public blog is not lost on me.  This was what made me uncomfortable about writing the blog in the first place.  I see it as a juxtaposition. On one hand I relish in the voyeuristic nature of the blog (Someone is seeing what I write!  ANNNND they might comment on it!!! OOOOH look...a comment!), but on the other hand I am thinking, "Who the heck am I?" and "Who cares what I have to say?"
     Apparently though, I am the minority.  As an occasional anthropologist, I have observed many a status update bearing the now ubiquitous TMI. Honesty is definitely a positive character trait, but bathroom habits+Facebook is something else entirely. The sincerity with which the aforementioned Housewives hock their sub par products,without having any knowledge or expertise in the respective industry of said products (Alexis of Beverly Hills LIKES and WEARS clothes, so she deemed herself a fashion designer!), is astounding.  I suppose if someone gets "Liked" or "Retweeted" enough, then they have a right to believe their own hype?
     Or is this persistent state of "Look at me!  Look how great I am!" just human nature? Do we long for validation and a niche in this world, or have we created that need with our omnipresent media culture? Before Facebook, I would not have had 40+ friends congratulate me in a matter of minutes on being accepted into a prestigious grad school.  But I am not going to lie, seeing that number increase after I posted my news felt great.  Getting accepted to that school pre-Facebook/Twitter/Blogger would have been just as honorable.  But would I have felt as much like a rock star?  Hmmm...
     For now it will remain a rhetorical question and my anthropological pursuits will continue. I leave you with a clip from a Saturday Night Live episode.  Hey, at least if it's being satirized it's on the social radar, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSjLiQxEZlM