Fredric Jameson described the postmodern condition as "a perpetual barrage of immediacy from which all sheltering layers and intervening mediations have been removed." That assessment, published in 1991, became increasingly accurate over the following three decades. By now, the world has fulfilled Jameson's prophecy, which perfectly describes the experience of being online and particularly that of using Twitter, which is nothing if not a perpetual barrage of immediacy. The movement to quit websites like Twitter as a means of self care and sanity preservation has gained momentum (I tried it), but many of us find ourselves returning (I did) because, to get what Twitter offers, where else can we go? The "sheltering layers" to which Jameson referred—neighborhoods, communities, local institutions—had begun to atrophy well before the '90s and aren't any more robust now; we live increasing portions of our lives in a totally globalized space that is as fragile as it is volatile, an open ocean that mercilessly tosses each of us on our individual tiny rafts.
#53: Man Bites Reality
#53: Man Bites Reality
#53: Man Bites Reality
Fredric Jameson described the postmodern condition as "a perpetual barrage of immediacy from which all sheltering layers and intervening mediations have been removed." That assessment, published in 1991, became increasingly accurate over the following three decades. By now, the world has fulfilled Jameson's prophecy, which perfectly describes the experience of being online and particularly that of using Twitter, which is nothing if not a perpetual barrage of immediacy. The movement to quit websites like Twitter as a means of self care and sanity preservation has gained momentum (I tried it), but many of us find ourselves returning (I did) because, to get what Twitter offers, where else can we go? The "sheltering layers" to which Jameson referred—neighborhoods, communities, local institutions—had begun to atrophy well before the '90s and aren't any more robust now; we live increasing portions of our lives in a totally globalized space that is as fragile as it is volatile, an open ocean that mercilessly tosses each of us on our individual tiny rafts.