T M I

Surely I am not the only person in America who has noticed that we seem to have gone beyond the boundaries of appropriate info both in our personal lives and in advertising. We all know disagreeable things happen, and need to be dealt with, but do we really want to see them depicted on our television screens?
The ad men seem to be trying to desensitize us by bombarding us with “cutesie” cartoons of cuddly bears with bits of toilet paper stuck to their furry little posteriors. Furthermore, they are often found strolling off to a stand of trees, with a roll of tissue spinning on their finger lending credence to that old adage we have all heard about bears and the woods.
The musically rocking depiction of babies vying for high scores while filling disposable diapers is just wrong. Whoop…there it is! Honestly, we all know what IT is and most of us know how to contain it when IT happens. If we don’t I guess it is time to drag the bears out of the closet and beat the crap out of them for possession of their Charmin.
Some of the most objectionable campaigns deal with myriad problems only the female gender encounter, and there again….must we?! My husband is convinced that all daytime advertising centers on some form of “icky” situation.
I will refrain from even commenting on the worst problem the aging, balding, belly fat developing fellows must endure. But your advertising gurus find nothing too delicate to talk about and exploit. Suffice it to say that “V” no longer stands for Victory. Or….maybe it does….by now I’m really confused.
But, advertising execs aren’t entirely to blame for our increasingly rabid need to talk about anything and everything. We as a society share entirely too much. A population that is daily terrified of losing their identity seems to be throwing it away with both hands. We say too much and then the spin doctors depersonalize it to the point we don’t care anymore. We are numb, deaf and jaded. Nothing is too much or too personal for us to know and share.
The advent of social networking gives us the venue of the biggest convention hall ever constructed. There we are, all talking at once and sharing, and sharing, and sharing. If you are a praying person, what a huge church you have at your disposal. The plea for prayer is met with literally hundreds of people who answer the call. I personally think this is a pretty terrific way to use our networking skills.
We share stories, pictures and recipes in a heartbeat and have at our disposal the combined wisdom of everyone in our “friends” list and their friends as well.
Given the nature of what I do, I MUST be willing to share. A writer cannot view their own life as a “sacred cow” – never to be examined, shared or talked about. To be an effective communicator in the written word, you must first write about what you know best, yourself.
Unfortunately, that same social networking site that affords us with instant contact with our friends can also be a slippery slope into the snake pit if we aren't careful. Sometimes, we forget that not only our friends seek us out, but often our enemies as well. Employers have been known to "creep" around our MySpace, Facebook and Blog sites looking for things to use against us. I've heard stories about people getting terminated for merely "venting" about their job frustrations. Some businesses, school systems, etc. have forbidden their employees from having these types of avenues of self-expression as a means of protecting their own reputations. The old expression "big brother is watching you" is no longer just a could be scenario in an extremely disturbing book it is a harsh reality. And let's face it people in an economy that has rapidly increasing inflation, ballooning unemployment and a general sense of panic in the populace - if we are lucky enough to have a job we should take care to not jeopardize it by thought, word or deed. Pour your difficulties with your co-workers, your job or your boss into the one listening ear you can truly trust and take care to not spread it around the internet.
By the same token, if you want your privacy and like to have your own life outside of work, you might not want to open up a window into your private world. I am a firm believer that what goes on behind closed doors is your own business if it hurts no one else. However, not everyone is as evolved and will use those innocent little things you do and say to hurt you. And I have to admit that if I had someone working for me that was talking about some borderline controversial subjects I might start re-evaluating their value to me as a team player. After all, it would technically be my money that was funding their off the wall bizarre actions, therefore I might feel culpable for the consequences that could ultimately play out.
On occasion, in a pure old fashioned “hissy fit” I will vent and take no prisoners. I am unapologetic for this. After all, sometimes things just have to be “said” in order for the sting to lessen and cool. Plus, the coke bottles that I used to fling at brick walls aren’t as readily available as they once were and are danged messy to clean up.
And, I also understand the need of other people to pour their needs and issues into a willing listening ear. I hope I provide that for them every chance I get.
But, holy cow people! Sometimes we just go too far. When we start to become the guilty party in desensitizing people we need to step back and do a reality check. Everyone has problems, that is a given in life. But if we cannot pad our problems in a layer of humor and just side splitting laughter from time to time we wear people out.
By the same token, someone who is constantly over the moon euphoric gets a bit nauseating and tiresome to people who are really struggling with seemingly insurmountable problems.
It has amazed me from time to time to watch people assault the realm of cyber space with blow by blow descriptions of their daily doings. I like to call these “The Perils of Pauline” people. Those who are intermittently tied to the railroad track by Snidely Whiplash and then rescued by Dudley Doright many times in an episode.
Had Little Nell had the good sense to stay far away from Snidely she might not have had so many problems in the first place. And one has to wonder if Dudley ever just wanted to not answer the phone. Or, upon answering, simply say, “sorry, Nell, I’m a little busy at the moment polishing my saddle.” Nell might have avoided stirring up the wrath of Dudley’s faithful but seethingly jealous steed, Horse and maintained peace and contentment in Semi-Happy Valley.
And, do any of us want to be the “Bullwinkle” in the crowd, giving our “enemies” enough information to really hurt us? Fortunately, Boris and Natasha weren’t any smarter than poor Bullwinkle but some of us might not be quite as lucky. And let us not forget that even as much as Rocky loved Bullwinkle, he got tired of his big old loose moose lips flapping indiscriminately.
I love witty status updates on Facebook and I love knowing what my “peeps” are up to. Some of the blurbs I like best are ones that make me wonder what in the heck is happening? Why did they say that? Those that make me THINK instead of feel like I’m standing outside their window like a bored peeping Tom hoping for a cheap thrill.
So, I’m going to follow my own advice and try to be more circumspect in what I choose to put out there for public consumption. My grandmother always told me the more people could see the more they wanted to see. She was talking about clothing but it works with information as well. Besides, it might be fun to be a “woman cloaked in mystery” for a while.
…………..and how was your day? I would really like to know.