tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951481887669777591.post1875721724439873944..comments2023-06-08T09:34:39.076-04:00Comments on The Magdalene Sisters: On Being GoogledAgatha Magdalenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05224221846886335490noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951481887669777591.post-35908153623908875152011-01-28T21:21:07.408-05:002011-01-28T21:21:07.408-05:00Although an "online presence" feels new,...Although an "online presence" feels new, it's really not. Before there was the internet there were school yearbooks, gossip columns in the newspaper, and plenty of little old ladies telling stories about, well, everyone. Before there was Facebook, I remember the actual freshmen facebooks each year, with pictures of every incoming college freshman, their home town and the name of their high school. (Yes, the boys would circle the pictures of the girls they thought were cute.) In one form or another, narratives about ourselves which we do not tell have always existed.<br /><br />Thomas More was very keen on guarding his reputation well. This was not narcissism; rather, he knew that people would identify him with the Church and with Christ, and for their sake he needed to be above reproach. He was careful to cultivate a reputation which would glorify God, even though he didn't personally care what folks whispered behind his back.<br /><br />Every now and again I Google my own name. Part of my motive might be narcissism, but I am also motivated by a genuine desire for the truth. I want people to see me for who I am; if my "online presence" is significantly out of step with that, I want to change it, or at least know about it.<br /><br />Anyone who spends much time on the internet will know that some of the information on it is simply false, and much of it is lopsided, impartial or out of date. Sensible people will check the internet regarding all kinds of things - and then take it with a grain of salt.<br /><br />As with so many things in dating, there's not a particularly right or wrong way to do things here. Some people are comfortable giving significant meaning to online information; other people are more skeptical. If someone Googles you, and takes his findings seriously, there's a good chance you and he have rather different - potentially incompatible - views of the internet and the individual (irrespective of the particular conclusions he may have drawn from his Google search). You're better off without him.Aaron Lindermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15992073027586818751noreply@blogger.com