So today, Facebook reminded me that "On this day" two years ago, I was in London for a concert (The Spice Girls Reunion Concert...that is a story for another day, and possibly an entire blog post on its own). Instantly, I felt a rush of feelings -- memories of the trip, nostalgia for 90s pop music, and an intense desire to book a flight literally anywhere.
I personally love the Memories function of Facebook -- those little reminders of moments in time -- whether they be pictures, status updates, or check-ins and an event. It's also an interesting way to see how the functionality of the platform has changed over the years.
"On this day" 13 years ago, my status said I was "listening to music" -- Does anyone else remember when statuses were just [Name] is [insert mundane task here]? I would literally go about my day informing people if I was listening to music, going to the gym, or working on homework, and for some reason I actually thought people would care! Eventually, as I became more involved on campus, I would use my status as free advertising space to alert people of meetings and events going on.
"On this day" 10 years ago, I decided to quote from a BBC series, "Being Human," that I loved at the time.
"On this day" 7 years ago, I was in North Carolina for a wedding, and I taught a bunch of people how to do "The Wobble" (I'm a sucker for a line dance, and you will ALWAYS find me on the dancefloor at any wedding or event).
Earlier today I was having a conversation with the roommate regarding the Memories tool and "Timehop" app, and how she wishes there was a way you could alert the tool to not show memories from certain times. To her, there are moments in her past that she would rather not remember, and she wishes there were ways to block it out. We laughed about her example of "Hey! Remember when you were fired from your job three years ago, and you went to a Mexican Restaurant and had three margaritas and an order bottomless chips and salsa alone? Weren't you healing from that pain and trying to forget? WELL REMEMBER IT NOW!"
While it was funny in the moment, I wonder if there's some truth to what my roommate was saying. Should we be able to block out some memories, or is it best to just let them come up "On this day"?
-Ello (he/him/his)
I definitely think we should be able to spare ourselves painful memories. Personally, I don’t tend to post such things, but maybe that also reflects a fortunate life during the era of social media. I think I posted when my grandmother passed, but I was at peace with it and it was a post of love and remembrance rather than sorrow. Everything else I tend to wait and post afterward, when I’m not at the height of emotion. Alternately, it’s just a minor thing not worth remembering (that time the plane was delayed and I was so overtired and cold and hungry and cranky). However, I know someone who has multiple accounts and one of her accounts is full of grieving (her husband passed, and there were various other not so great things going on). She hides from the memories, avoids it during certain times, etc. I can see how it would be difficult.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great point about waiting to post so you're not "at the height of emotion;" it actually brings to mind a passive-aggressive Facebook status I made when I was an RA at FSU (which resulted in a conversation with the Director of Res Life...!). I think you just inspired one of my next blog posts next week!
DeleteOne thing I will ask is that, while we may choose to not post things we know are painful, what about memories that were happy at the time but have become negative over time? Ex. an "On this day" memory appears involving an ex, or a friend you are no longer on good terms with. The memory was happy at the time, but it has tarnished as the years went on -- should there be a way to turn those notifications off?