One Night On Friendster

So I’ve been a member of Friendster for several years now, though I honestly don’t use it very often. But lately, as I’ve been finding more and more excuses not to write, I’ve found it to be a nice venue, because at least I can pretend I’m being social (checking out what my long-lost friends have been up to, sending messages to keep in touch).

But anyhow, today I discovered the following:

Popular Searches in my network:

1 free 3D wallpaper
2 job openings
3 personality test
4 backgrounds
5 polyphonic ringtone
6 sunglasses
7 cheap laptops
8 love songs
9 lyrics
10 free astrology

So now I’m curious. What comprises my network? Is it the 34 first-degree friends plus the 2530 second-degree friends? Or is it larger than that? Now, for the most part, I can understand a lot of these search topics (people look for jobs and new computers, they get bored with the settings on their computers and cell phones). But these other ones, well, I hate to judge, but really? Are there really that many people in my network more concerned with finding love songs and free astrology than perhaps petitions about the enormous deficit or abortion rights? Are people really that shallow? If I were working a regular old desk job eight hours a day, would I surf the web during breaks looking for personality tests and what the heck Chris Martin was actually singing during the concert Monday night? Come to think of it, I probably did.

The optimist in me says that people already have their trusted news sources, and thus don’t have to search the web for that. For example, the absence of any sort of NCAA or basketball search puzzled me at first, until I realized that by now, you’re probably going straight to your favorite sports casting website. And if you want to prevent anti-abortion legislation from passing, you’ll probably follow the link that you got in the email that was sent out informing you that the issue is up for vote in your state.

But are there really that many people that I know, or that someone I know knows, looking for a free astrology reading? All at the same time? I find that a little hard to believe. I haven’t received any of those emails recently that say, “Go to Google and type in the words ‘free astrology’ and check out the result. You’ll be amazed.” (Trust me, you won’t be. I decided to try and there’s nothing unexpected or particularly interesting there).
Of course, my dad recently had me type in “what is life” in the Google toolbar and laughed as he showed me the top Sponsored Link. He was considering the philosophical implications of the results, and I encouraged him to start his own blog where he can share his philosophies with the world. He’d probably get more readers than me.

But maybe that’s what’s bugging me. When my dad gets on the computer and decides to “surf the web,” he is looking for knowledge, enlightenment (or maybe just amusement, I honestly have no idea). When I google (that is a verb now, isn’t it?), it’s usually for something specific. Either I’m looking for the website for a particular store and I need directions to get there, I am researching something for a story, or I’m trying to find out where I should go and what the options are for getting new beds for the boys that can convert to bunk beds when they’re old enough for them but can be side-by-side for now. I don’t get much time on the web, and when I am taking a lot of time, 1) it’s usually at the expense of my writing, or 2) I’m perseverating (like, why is perseveration in the online dictionary but not in Word’s dictionary, so that I have to go online and force myself not to play a word game, though I inevitably do and go to sleep later than I should yet again).

Am I just an incurable nerd? Is it fair for me to expect my network of acquaintances to use the web for mind-enriching, and not inane, reasons? Especially when I myself am guilty of wasting my fair share of time browsing the web. The web allows you to feel smart while doing dumb things. I’m giving my brain a rest, we think, a well-deserved distraction. There’s nothing wrong with that. But then, why would so many of us be searching for free astrology reports? Please, help me understand. Then again, maybe I do know the answer. Maybe it’s somewhere inside me, in my cosmos, and I just need help channeling the information. Anyone know where I could find someone to help me?