Modern Life: The Endless Stream of "Notifications"

So, Mrs. Denmarkguy wanted to know whether I had logged into one of her online events relating to her Poshmark store... the answer to which was "no"... and it occurred to me that I hadn't received any kind of notification about it.

Of course, that was partially my own fault because I typically avoid the eternal requests from websites to "notify" me of updates...

These days, we seem to be bombarded with requests to be sent notifications and updates... and often these seem to apply to almost anything, no matter how mundane. "Our store manager took a piss!"

I'm sure there are those who think it's amazing to get a never ending stream of updates. However, I do find myself pondering what my phone would even sound like if I actually agreed to all those requests!

It's terrifying!

Granted, I have never felt genetically attached to my phone the way some people do... it was hard enough for me to just get used to people calling me anywhere, at any time. There's just something vaguely invasive about needing to feel updated about 100s of organizations' every move...

Even as I write these words, earlier I actually forgot my phone at our vendor booth at the event we're taking part in this weekend. So what? It'll be there tomorrow morning when we set up for the day.

But let's get back to notifications and updates.

Maybe I'm just cynical, but sometimes it seems like individuals, companies and organizations "update" stuff purely for the sake of updating, and those updates actually have no tangible consequence.

Which brings us back to the heart of why I always say NO to whether I will allow notifications. It's the sheer frequency of updates/notifications that make me unsubscribe.

No, More is not better. More is actually annoying. It's just a contribution of noise to the information stream, and I'm super happy to be without it!

In some people's eyes, that probably makes me a "bad consumer." And I'm OK with that!

I'm just not willing to dedicate that much of my "personal bandwidth" to what is — ultimately — thinly (or not so thinly) disguised marketing.

Your stuff is just not that important!

Perhaps part of my issue here is that most "notifications" are not very customizable. You can't just agree to be notified only for the select few items you're interested in. And so, I'd rather look at nothing, than have to wade my way through everything.

And with the holidays right around the corner? I'm actually kind of happy to not be inundated with electronic "noise," in the form of updates.

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

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Created at 2023-12-01 22:08PST
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