Attention as defined by urbandictionary.com: n. 1. the thing that belongs to you which I have right now. 2. slang terminology for a 10 sack of marijuana.
Turn on your computer, your TV or even your radio and you'll, no doubt, come in contact with some person who is purposefully seeking attention. It's safe to say that we all seek attention at some point. Some of us need it more than others while some of us will do almost anything to get it. The rest of us think we don't need it and so go about our day trying to remain inconspicuous, indirectly, at some point, drawing attention to ourselves.
While we all want to feel appreciated, loved, respected, and that we belong somewhere, drawing a fine line between attention-seeking and fulfilling that sense of belonging is difficult. I imagine there are those people out there thinking, "I HATE attention." My translation of this, "I WANT attention, I just don't want it this way." I know many women who had anxiety over their bridal showers or baby showers because they didn't want to be the center of attention. Well, suffice it to say, putting up a fight and trying to resist the spotlight is just as attention seeking; you're just looking for attention through a different means.
Facebook and other social networking sites have become the drug of choice for those addicted to attention and have become the gateway drug for those people who didn't even know they "needed" so much attention. There was an article posted on CNN.com (click to read article) that discussed the most annoying facebookers. All types of facebook status updates listed in this article were various attention-seeking methods. Can you imagine the frenzy that would ensue on your Facebook page if you DIDN'T update your status? More attention from friends asking if you're ok or what's going on. It's safe to say that an update on Facebook, or lack of update, is generally to get attention, whether you update once a week or 20 times a day, the difference is how badly you need it.
Reality shows have flooded our televisions. People think they've got what it takes to become the star of said shows. American Idol is one of the most popular reality shows right along side Survivor, both of which show "normal people" competing to be the best. I've seen some people on these shows and my initial reaction is, "They're doing this just to get attention, they have no intentions of following through to the end of the show." I wonder how many of these people think that this will be their launching pad to stardom? I mean come on, who wants to be the next star performing at the Super Bowl only to have their wardrobe malfunction?? As if it's really reality!
Whether it's how we dress, how many times we update our status on Facebook, or our statement of "I don't like being the center of attention." We all seek attention in some way, shape, or form. I didn't even want to start a blog because I felt weird talking about myself, thus, drawing attention to myself. We all seek to belong, I believe that was how God created us, so that we would want to be a part of His reality. But somewhere along the way we've decided we wanted to belong to something bigger and better than God. How foolish! Look where that's gotten us! Our society thrives on exploiting people's need to belong and the need for attention. We have distorted it so badly that people will spend each day of their entire life looking for the attention they needed, when it was right in front of them all along. It was free and it was more attention than they would ever need!
May you seek the attention of our faithful, ever-loving God this week and realize that's all you need! I'm now going to log on to Facebook and link this blog to my profile...but not because I seek attention...right?
Q4U: To what extremes have you gone to seek attention? (you can post anonymously, although you'll get more attention if you leave your name!) OR do you post a status on Facebook to seek attention or to get a reaction?
1 comment:
Great post Cara! I've actually been thinking about this topic a lot lately. One question I've been thinking on is: how can we truly feel that we have God's attention? When we have earthly attention it is so much more apparent and in our face. God's attention is far more quiet and subtle and I think we often have a difficult time recognizing it. Does that mean it is less powerful or less important? On the contrary I think it is more powerful and more fulfilling.
I will admit that I do like attention and I often get discouraged at how much attention others get. When I was in high school I used to dramatize my hardships to get the attention of others. I finally figured out that it didn't work and that in general I would prefer unsolicited attention.
Unsolicited attention, is there such a thing? Aren't we constantly doing something in hopes that someone will notice? In general we are not an intrinsically motivated society; we need extrinsic motivation (i.e. attention). Classrooms are full of students who are seeking attention by either being the class clown, the overachiever, or the silent type. Each of these groups is seeking attention just each in different ways.
I think attention is a cry to be seen, known and loved. It is a reflection on how deeply people need Jesus, and not just in the "finding Jesus" sense, but in the sense of truly dwelling in His presence, feeling His full attention as they sit at His feet. It is just another manifestation of how much we need Him.
Sorry for the ramblings. Again great post! I will be thinking on this next time I update my status on Facebook :-)
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