Look at Me!

I am a proud product of little league baseball. Even though it seems like it was over 100 years ago when I played for the Giants and, later, the Tigers, I do think back to those times with fondness. As the years passed from time to time I would watch the kids play a few innings and smile as the contended with ground balls, running bases and swinging the bat. The mere fact they were suited up and on the field  trying so hard to play well made them shine in my eyes. Invariably, during the course of each game at least one of the players from the field would wave to his parents as if to say, "Look at me!." The parents, of course, would smile and wave back.

The exchange of waves was heartfelt. It seemed to say, at least for a few moments, the game itself was of little if any consequence. What was important was the participation. To me, the wave between child and parents was a silent reaffirmation of this. Fast forwarding to the present, from time to time I skim Facebook and Twitter entries and see striking similarities. In this case, instead of youngsters waving from the field, it is older individuals who are waving from the Internet with messages that share their thoughts on movies, weekend adventures or how well they slept the night before.  People, inevitably, wave back with comments that either acknowledge what was just written or by adding their own opinions on the subject.

As wonderful and technologically-advanced as social media is, there is very much a strong "look at me" component to it that I am unconvinced adds much, if anything, to the game of life in which we are involved. Staying it touch with friends via the Internet is fine. Making new friends that way is fine, too. But as the popularity of this form of communication continues to grow while the level of exchange remains the same, I am concerned we may be making the mistake of confusing enhancing our visibility this way with actual achievement. The two are far from the same. This lowers the bar as to what is actual achievement, thus detracting from the quality of our society. Like those little leaguers, perhaps we should be paying more attention to ground balls, running bases and swinging bats.