March 7 , 2006
OPINIONSMySpace addicts want more than Tom’s friendship
We all have addictions. It sounds like a scary word, but we all really do.
Dictionary.com defines “addiction” as “the condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.”
I consider myself to be a typically normal person.
When people ask me what I have been up to lately, I respond with the typical “Oh you know, work, school, the usual.” But recently I have become addicted. Addicted to something so evil, that it seems so innocent.
My addiction is www.myspace.com.
Of course, it took me a while to hop on the bandwagon, but when I first signed up, I was addicted. I was constantly trying to find new pictures to put in my background, and putting in new fonts or cursors.
It sounds harmless, but then it escalated.
I began to look at other people’s myspace and tried to make mine better in every way, shape and form. This includes, but is not limited to copying and pasting their musical tastes, asking people that I don’t even know to be my friend, blogging five times a day and commenting on other peoples pages so much that you would see my picture on their page more than their own.
It got worse but I am not permitted to speak about it because my therapist told me not to.
This is called step one.
Now, of course I am not in therapy because of myspace, but I very well could be if I did not control this highly addictive drug. Like most addictions, it has its emotional, mental and physical consequences.
I recently compared it to the phenomenon of fast food restaurants.
Even though we know there are probably bugs, rat parts and hair in the junior bacon cheeseburger, Wendy’s is still a common lunch stop.
Myspace is a breeding ground for sexual offenders, murderers, and all the weirdos that know more about computers than I do.
It has become a new partner in the dating world. One of the most common pick up lines is, “So, are you on myspace?”
Myspace is just another piece of Americana, sadly. We know it is bad for us, yet we insist on partaking in it and everything it has to offer.
Once again, we see ourselves as creatures of habit and creatures that thrive on instant, temporary gratification. Just take a look at the slightly pornographic material on the sides of your page.
There are obviously two sides to every story, and of course, there is one for my argument.
I can admit to some wonders in my life due to myspace, just like I can state some huge mistakes, things I wish I did not say, people I wish I did not meet, and creepy people I wish would just back off.
I get to talk to friends I have not seen since high school, talk to people from other places and give and get information that would probably be hard to find any other place.
From what I have seen, musicians have had wonderful success on myspace and I am sure I am not doing justice to many groups that have had a genuine success story on the website.
You either love it or you hate it.
You will either be the strong, anti-trend person who will stand their ground and never sign up, or you will be the person who signs up at first in secret, but that will never last; someone will find you.
Just hope it is someone who actually is who they say they are.
Happy myspace-ing, and please add me.
Volume 43, Issue 10. Today is
