Vulnerability

TedTalks never fails. I remember thinking a lot about vulnerability about...15 years ago?? I don't remember all my thoughts, but basically, I remember realizing that someone (I) who feels really high highs will also feel really low lows, and I thought that some people who can't deal with the really low lows decide to make themselves less vulnerable. But then, as a result, they don't feel the really high highs, and to some people, that is an okay bargain. For me, as much as I hate low lows, I'd rather deal with that in order to feel great highs. I also think current technology shields us from vulnerability: when I used to feel really uncomfortable at a party because no one was talking to me, I had to either go talk to someone, or deal with the discomfort of just standing there. Now, I can pretend to be texting someone or looking something up online. As a result of this new capability, people are less vulnerable. But you know what else? They don't get the positive feedback from others that they once may have gotten. This is why things like Facebook and online gaming have become so popular: constant little rewards where they are otherwise lacking (there is a really good TedTalk about that too ("Gaming Can Make a Better World" by Jane McGonigal. (sp?)) I am kind of amazed at how often people post stuff like "I fixed it" or "I ran a mile today" or "Today stinks"...I was thinking about it today, and I realized (duh?) that it's for recognition and reward. Our limbic systems are starving for rewards maybe specifically from others, maybe not. We want and expect people to pat us on the backs for the effort we are putting in to life. This probably used to be accomplished through interpersonal communication, but since we eradicated that possibility with technology (exaggeration), we have to get it from things like "Like"s on Facebook. Anyway, here is a talk about vulnerability that's pretty interesting in my opinion.