Staring into space / The people of the internet / Are Facebook friends aliens?

RTomens, 2020

Being prone to 'staring into space' may or may not be a healthy trait but it's something I do regularly and have done since I was a child. What do I expect to see in that 'space', that somewhere beyond/between the physical world immediately surrounding me? Nothing, of course. It's not an act of 'looking'. It's having my eyes open but not seeing. 

So last night I had zoned out of the conscious world, staring at nothing from the comfort of my sofa when the people of the internet popped into my head. Is that what staring into space does? Allow anything to enter the consciousness once the normal barriers are down? 

'Who are the people of the internet?' I wondered, thinking of Facebook friends. I mean, really, they're mostly a complete mystery. Much has been written about online relationships and FB in particular but I wonder if anyone can solve the mystery of internet people...what do they want? Are they actually aliens? Are they beings from another dimension adopting names and in some cases human forms to carry out a social experiment?

We can't help knowing them as 'Friends' because that's what they are in the online realm. We know what real friends are and they are not, on the whole, Facebook's friends. I thought about where they would all be in ten years' time...would I still know some of them? If not, why? I could offend them to the point of being rejected as a Friend. Some could die. I could reject them, although I've never actually unFriended anyone, merely snoozed them for 30 days (get in the sin bin!) or Unfollowed. 

It's a fact that Friends can annoy the hell out of you, but unlike actual friends, you don't get to balance things out over beers or coffee and, you know, the interaction of physical gestures etc. No, the people of the internet just keep throwing things at your eyes. You get to 'know' them through a series of signifiers...music, art, personal photos, pets, political comments and, of course, memes. You don't know them, though. They aren't real. They are a collection of broadcasts in text and image.

I like to think I can read people well, usually, even if only through their FB posts. I've had a few surprises though, recently. A few Friends decided enough was enough from Robin Tomens! All I did was post photos of myself in my Klan outfit. Bloody snowflakes! (That is a joke, of course).

Internet people on Facebook are, ultimately, just like life - all life is there - minus the reality! They are perfect simulations of people in the tech universe. Is Facebook one big game that we don't know we're playing? If so, I hope it doesn't end just yet because I'd miss the internet people, some of whom  like and even buy my art. I realise this, in the eyes of some, makes me sad. I know people who aren't on FB and survive well enough. They must have enough real friends. I, meanwhile, sit on my sofa, staring into space...