Once Again, The Internet Is Completely Useless In The Face Of Real Human Tragedy

Once Again, The Internet Is Completely Useless In The Face Of Real Human Tragedy

This is a screengrab of actress Chloe Moretz’s Twitter page. She tweets her thoughts and prayers to the people in Boston, then she retweets two articles about herself, and then she tweets again about the scary things that are happening in the world today. Right. Perfect. WOULD YOU HIT IT? Look, actress Chloe Moretz is 16 years old. We’re all just doing the best we can. But once again I am baffled and confused by people’s use of the Internet in a time of genuine human tragedy. What, exactly, is the purpose of tweeting that you are praying for Boston? That’s an actual question, I want to know. We are all praying for Boston, or if not praying, then doing whatever variation on quiet compassion we prefer. Is it because we feel powerless in the face of death? OK, but tweeting does not change that. And what, in our fevered imaginations powered by fear and confusion, do we imagine to be the best case scenario of a tweet about praying for Boston? Who exactly is the tweet FOR? It’s not for Boston. If it is, I’m sorry, but Boston has more important things going on right now. Is it for your other friends who are also not in Boston? Is it to let them know that you know about the news? If someone does not tweet that they are praying for Boston, do you assume that they don’t care about Boston or that they are not emotionally affected by these terrible events? IS IT TO PROMOTE THE ENTOURAGE MOVIE? Fucking COME ON. Is it because tweeting that you are praying for Boston allows you to feel connected with other people, and therefore less alone, and therefore less casually tossed around by the absurd winds of an indifferent universe? Again: real question! It is OK to feel helpless because you are helpless. And it is OK to do things to feel less helpless because that feels better than feeling more helpless. But with this Twitter stuff, man oh man, always so confusing and noisy and frustrating. Please know that I don’t think this blog post is any better. If I had my way, we would have unplugged the Internet YEARS AGO. Not just today but every day and forever. I don’t know. Sorry? Sorry everyone? But now you also please apologize?

Hang in there, please. Love you guys. Stop tweeting though.

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