What To Do When There’s no Here, and no There

You may remember a TV commercial starring Anna Pacquin (the Australian Actress) when she was just 12.  I remember it very distinctly, it was created by MCI and came out in 1998 or 1999.  I was so taken by what Anna said that I referred to it in a speech.  In essence, she said, in the future, there will be no here, and no there, but everything will be everywhere at once.  Of course, she was talking about the Internet.

Recently, Virginia Cornue, who writes a blog for boomers at www.vaboomer.com , captured not only the essence of that commercial, but particularly how it related to what Boomers today are experiencing and how they are making new use of the internet, particularly Facebook and Twitter, to re-establish social and life connection with everyone, everywhere.  Here is what she wrote (I am quoting from her here–and kudos to you, Virginia):

There Is Only Here Now
The internet has erased time and space–and there is no more there there, there is only here now–we are all one in the internet cloud. The ramifications for us Boomers is profound. Kids grow up and scatter. Friends move away–as I did to far flung parts of the world–all over the US, then to China for several years. And while I needed to shake the dust off my small town feet, my roots got parched because I could never really stay in touch with friends and family in an easy way. Facebook has changed all that. And when I found my drama department pals from UNC-Ch, I was so happy. I began to feel grounded again.

There Is Only Here Now Baby Boomer Depression and Lonliness
Many Boomers are suffering from depression and loneliness precisely due to severed human connections–they are no longer at their jobs, their elders are dying, their kids are going, their ages are bringing new issues to the fore. But the new social networking platforms are a tonic to depression and loneliness. Anthro 101 and Psych 101 are very specific that human beings are social animals. We travel in packs. We like to congregate.

But some of the conditions of contemporary society obviate our most basic needs and the means of keeping us connected and happy.

The new social networking platforms are a great anti-depressant.”

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