As the assignment directed, I reviewed my Facebook feed and was surprised to find that there are indeed narratives being carried out by several people I follow. I knew there was one that has been going on since New Years Eve that I had in mind when I went in to review my feed. A friend of mine and her husband moved to Austria in the fall to teach skiing and work as ski patrol. Unfortunately, Dave had a very serious accident that he was lucky to survive while skiing en piste. His wife has been keeping us updated with posts, almost daily and it has been wonderful. There was also a crowd source funding campaign established for them and this too have been playing out along with fundraisers etc. Dave's wife is a journalist and a great writer so her updates have been amazing to read, full of emotion and drama. They have ranged from an initial report of the event, and then updates ranging from concern whether Dave would survive the accident, to would he lose his leg and so on, right up to his being released from hospital yesterday. It has been riveting to read and the responses to these posts from friends all over the word range from 150-900. The support for this couple has been tremendous and has also created a very cohesive community that has helped spread the word for the fundraising campaign and keep these two and their families going. There seems to be no constraint with the word limit of these posts however as the past post by Dave's wife contained 1,195 words. It is also interesting that they have been using this story to create some awareness around safety and the importance of wearing a helmet.
While I expected this particular friend to have a narrative, I was surprised to find others did as well. I follow several friends who are living on boats, sailing around the world and their feeds too tend to be directed at their friends, keeping them updated on the progress they make, always seeking feedback and thoughts. While its a great way to stay in touch it helps them tell their story and reach out to the many friends they have.
Meanwhile, another friend lost both of her elderly parents in the past couple of years and she and her siblings have been posting a great deal about their family's life, partly in remembrance of their parents and partly to cope with their loss. The publics role in this story seems to help them recreate memories and in some way keep their spirit alive and well. It too is very effective.
Most of the posts by my friends are the mundane, day-to-day postings of what's going on in their lives but I am surprised when I review to find narratives taking place with meaning.
I remember a story by a friend who was training to be a doula. One of her first clients was a high-strung "trophy" wife who'd had twins and was clearly out of her element. Wishing to bring some order and structure into her life, my friend embarked on teaching her a daily routine. One of these was feeding time, and the mom seemed concerned that one of the twins was given the wrong tray toy and seemed to be fussing. My friend tried to reinforce that it wasn't important, that the goal was to get the kids fed. The mom replied, "well, it looks as though it's important to my son...". It caught my friend off-guard, as she was so intent on getting the routine down that she didn't take into consideration the importance of the voices of all those involved. As trivial as that may sound, I don't think she's ever forgotten that lesson. I was reminded of it when I read your post, Tess, as I mentioned in my post that I, too, was surprised at the abundance of narrative on SM overall. Some may journal or log for themselves, some to keep long-distance loved ones in the loop. But the stories are there. Looking for FB narrative made for a very stop-and-smell-the-roses kind of lesson for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Scott and Lisa, and thanks for your comment. I truly didn’t mean to sound dismissive of followers and friends comments, as it is a large component of Facebook and I am accepting of that. I too contribute a great deal to the digital world that I am sure more than one of my friends has entertained an eye-roll or two at the multitude of postings about my cat (the cutest kitty ever!) We can’t be expressive or exciting all the time, and perhaps mundane sounded more dismissive than I intended. What I am enjoying about this course is that it is awakening the whole concept of narrative in spaces such as Twitter and Facebook where I never really thought I would find it and for that I am extremely grateful. It’s so good to see something routine in a new light and appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteWhich takes me to Lisa’s point that is so bang on. I think she reflected exactly what I am trying to say in a rather round-about way, that narrative does exist online in so many ways but its not the typical or classic methods we’re experienced to seeing narrative portrayed in.