Some of us may recall mothers, fathers, teachers or others telling us as children, “Stop making that face or it might stay that way.” Or freeze that way. Or, something along those lines.
Before I make my point here, I confess that I was once the “chief of users” in this thing. (That’s meant to be a somewhat lighthearted reference to I Timothy 1:15). Somewhere about 7ish years ago there was a day when I discovered I could make myself into a Bitmoji, and then use the artificially intelligent cartoons of myself to make various statements and social media expressions.
Eventually, this began to lose its appeal to me.
Meanwhile, Facebook came out with their own Bitmoji-ing features where they could further own you and your image but turning you into some type of cartoon, or, more recently, images that to me appear to be plasticized representations not of you, but of…um…something else.
As a portrait artist and a highly visual person, I respond to images. And in recent times, as friends announce various things from birthdays to retirements to prayer requests and somehow (I don’t even know how this works and don’t want to) selecting a plastic looking cartoon of themselves to accompany the words, my gut cringes.
I ask us to consider why we are doing this. Do we think that it gives our words more worth? Does it make us feel good that there is something available that is even beyond the camera filters that edit our blemishes but actually turns us into a living, breathing fake cartoon in cyberspace?
I am sorry if I’m stepping on toes–my own toes are hurting the most, perhaps. I mean, what do I know. Apparently, my current avatar represents me as a perpetual, bright-eyed, cute-as-a-button, sweet child!
Some of my social media friends may have noticed I’m on an indefinite social media sabbatical. Meaning, I am re-treating and re-grouping my thoughts about social media and its various usages, pros and cons. For now, I’m limiting what I share to what I compose (thought wise) on my blog. Or, I post to my business pages and re-share.
This season of life continues with its daily difficulties, and it is good for me to concentrate elsewhere. I do check in and browse/read/comment/emoji-place here and there.
Just have a lot on my mind as I consider my personal home front and the many alarming, developing news fronts. The future is in God’s hands, but I certainly don’t want to be found to be a cartoon.
And memes. While some memes seem beneficial, I also have an increasing visceral reaction to those, too. Memes can be a source of propaganda and untruths. Please, be careful.
And the worst is the lengthily composed writings occasionally shared, where I get hooked in. I see someone who is normally quiet appearing to have taken their time to compose something thoughtful and worth reading, and mid-way to the end I become sucker-punched. At some point I realize these are not their own words or thoughts…and the very worse hit comes at the end when they ask all their friends to COPY, PASTE AND SHARE.
Social transitioning to cartoons, memes and artificially generated thought is a real thing, and quite Orwellian. Just like social transition to another “gender”–it is the beginning of eventual medical transition. So, keep this in mind. I wouldn’t want any of my friends to medically transition to a cartoon! Please keep your eyes open, that we do not become the frog slowly brought to a boil and by the time we realize it, it is too late.
The only antidote to the impending Orwellian apocalypse in the coming Brave New World is resistance, and creating and maintaining that which has been a real and authentic part of human experience until around February 2004.
Thank You For Reading
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