Facebook: a decline in beauty

Facebook is a social network fad that nearly everyone is familiar with. It is useful to connect with long-lost friends, and to learn more about those friends. If this were the only feature of Facebook, it would all be very well, but it isn't. The serious drawback is stated in the title of this post: a decline in beauty.

I first came to realise this as I examine my change in thought. As I have noted in earlier posts (or at least, I think I have), one of the best times to think is while washing dishes. In the past I would use this thinking time for more extensive things worthwhile, such as a comparison of too unlike objects (math and lemons, or cheese and turtles, for example). More recently, however, my thought patterns have been "status-message-tized." Literally. And once I realized this, my brain stuck my thought into a status-message form: "Ahh! I'm thinking in status messages!"

Of course, having identified this problem, I had to figure out whether it really was a problem. After all, could not this sort of thinking style eliminate useless chatter?
But, my brain cried, what happens to all the lengthy articles written over time?
What of them? I respond. Most people hardly read those things anyways.
For the sake of beauty were they written! My brain replied.

For the sake of beauty? What was that supposed to mean? Oh, surely there are books like Pilgrim's Progress and the like that are beautiful due to their many allegories and metaphors.
Those would be kind of hard to compact into status messages, would they not? And what of the Psalms even? What of Job and Isaiah in the Bible? What of hymns and poetry? What of Homer and Milton? What of Shakespeare? On and on the list goes.

The decline in love of the fullness of writing (also known as reading) is becoming inevitable. But now I am wondering, does this have anything to do with Facebook? I sat down with that goal in mind, but my argument has slowly evolved into an encouragement to read. I suppose one might call this post "free writing," for I have simply been following the chain of thoughts flowing through my head, and they have brought me here.

It would be bad form to end this post, or any other post for that matter, in this way: half-finished and unresolved, but it will have to do for now. I have yet to straighten out my thoughts and come to a conclusion, but I hope that conclusion will come soon.... maybe while I'm washing the dishes later.