The Pressure to Be Interesting

http://applecopywriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/spock-interesting-300x223.png

As I sat at my computer, fingers still, mind unnaturally devoid of my usual ceaseless internal conversation, I realized that I couldn't think of anything to blog about this week. 

My last post saved me from a multiple week hiatus, leaving me scrambling to come up with a topic that could actually be rendered blog-worthy. Despite utilizing my countless hours in traffic for brainstorming, when I logged into Blogger to write a new post, I faced a blank screen and embarrassment. I couldn't allow myself to fall into the hopeless chasm that is writer's block. But was it writer's block?

I faced a reality that appeared far more grim than the notion of being plagued with just writer's block. No, it was far worse than that. Could it be... that I was just uninteresting?

With the past few weeks consisting of little more than going to work and coming home, interspersed with some relatively drama-free hangouts lacking friend bites and awkward small talk, I had nothing to share, nothing to show, and certainly, nothing to blog about. Sure, things have happened, but is it worthy to spend time chatting on about? Probably not. As cute as my dog is, I don't know if I could really attribute an entire post to my dog's napping locations throughout the house.

The realization that this past month of post-vacation daily activity has left my bank of ideas empty got me to thinking. There seems to be an immense amount of pressure to be interesting. I mean, let's consider all of the social media outlets demanding content from us: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. What good are these accounts if not to show the entire world how interesting you are? Our Tweets display our wittiness or clever social commentary. Our Instagram accounts prove that we do exciting things like get into fancy bars, meet celebrities and drink artistic cappuccinos while eating cute breakfast pastries. Oh, and Facebook? Well, obviously Facebook proves that we have lots of friends who like to talk to us and take pictures with us and of us. If I fail to meet a certain level of interest, then I might as well cease to exist! At least, via social media. These social media outlets link our online lives to our offline lives-- so if I'm not doing anything interesting offline, what am I going to post online? What content will I be able to produce if my life offers nothing of interest to share?

I suppose we can take this into philosophical territory, if we so dare. What comes first: the interesting life or the interesting online profile? If my life is yielding little material for blogging fodder, does this force me to lead a more interesting life, in hopes that I'll have something to show for it via blog? Or do I have a great online presence because I have an overall interesting life and interesting things to say? Or... worse... am I focusing too much on creating an interesting life online, leaving my offline life to suffer for it? 

We are all curators of the online "museum" of ourselves, so to speak. We choose what to show, what to say, what to share, and therefore, do our best to control that particular image. Yet, unless we decide to "Catfish" our entire audience, we need to maintain that element of authenticity, and are thus subjected to trying to be that "person" we reveal online and offline. Should this blogging writer's block serve as a message that I need to get out more-- perhaps, re-acquaint myself with the rest of the world in order to produce more and better content? Or am I just not looking at myself hard enough to see that I have plenty of material just waiting to be typed out and posted? Perhaps neither, and instead, I just need to focus on doing my own thing, not worrying about whether or not it will give me something to write/Tweet/post about and enjoy life -- you know, reconnecting with life outside of this humming little monitor and chattering keys? The pressure to be interesting is something provoked by all of these online entities, which would be nonexistent were it not for modern technology. My Facebook page needs a smartphone/computer/tablet to exist -- but I do not. Could it be that I am more interesting than I give myself credit for?

Probably not, but the the good news is I have managed to turn this bout of uninteresting-ness into a post. Silver lining?

For more on this sort of social media insanity, check out this brief article on "Social Media Mental Problems" -- I think it sums things up pretty well:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/05/six-major-anxieties-of-social-media.html