OP_090116

opprairie.com Sound Off
the orland park prairie | September 1, 2016 | 17
Social snapshot
Top Web Stories
From opprairie.com as of Friday, Aug. 25
1. Orland firefighters rescue public works
employee from inside water tower
2. Orland Park man allegedly hits Frankfort
pedestrian with car
3. Eagles hope new coach, new QB, new
defensive scheme breed results
4. Orland Park native recounts experience of
writing tech book
5. Gas leak redirects traffic near Orland
Square
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Orland School District 135 posted the accompanying
image Aug. 23 with the note,
“After a fantastic first day of school, we are
ready for an incredible year! Check out
these photos from across the district for a
sneak peak into our fun first day back!”
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“Wishing Ms. C a happy retirement! I’ll truly
miss her presence in the hallways and her
cheerful smile! @SandburgHS”
@MrHabboubCSHS — Ramis Habboub,
Sandburg High School special services teacher
Follow The Orland Park Prairie: @opprairie
From the Editor
Combating social me-dia; or, Standing in line, Part II
BILL JONES
bill@opprairie.com
I
recently found myself
standing in line in Chicago.
The line was roughly oneand-a-half
city blocks long.
And it took roughly an hour
and a half to get through it.
Throughout my stint in said
line, many passersby asked
from their vehicles why the
line existed, a few phrasing it
in the way of “What are they
giving away?”
The answer was: nothing.
A brewer who stepped
out from a larger company
to form an independent
business and cultivated a
following was releasing a
one-day-only brew — John
Laffler, Off Color and
Barrel-Aged Dino S’mores,
for the record — and people
were waiting for the opportunity
to buy it. (It was
worth it.)
But that people were
waiting in line to reward
someone for their work
seemed perplexing to many.
Fashion
From Page 16
until picture day.
The girls at the stop were
sporting the latest trends in
fashion for girls in junior
high. It’s all about the
romper. They were so cute
in prints and solids, with
flip-flops on the feet. Some
wore colored Converse gym
shoes, with jean shorts or
This coupled in my mind
with something else I did
over a recent weekend,
which was watch a Netflix
comedy special: Bo
Burnham’s “Make Happy.”
Burnham does musical comedy
right — self-aware of
the stigma it sometimes carries
and undeniably clever.
But what was most striking
about it is what unfolds in
the last 15 minutes of the
special.
Burnham searches for
meaning in what he is doing
on the stage. And in mocking
a Kanye West musical rant
for some laughs, Burnham
also openly touches upon
some personal issues —
what he does, what it means,
what it leaves the audience
and what it leaves him.
In doing so, he also
touches upon the proliferation
of social media in our
lives. Most of us use it —
The Orland Park Prairie is
@OPPrairie on Twitter and
on Facebook.com/TheOr
landParkPrairie (cheap
plug!) — but what has
it done to our collective
psyche? Burnham argues
that in many ways it has
turned everyone into a performer.
Or maybe everyone
already was aching to be a
performer, both audience
and celebrity at the same
time, and social media was
the stage built in response to
white denim capris. A few
had on little summer dresses.
The one accessory they
all had was a gigantic
backpack, filled with every
school supply required and
then some.
The children at our stop
were all dressed very appropriately,
and each little
person was embracing a
trend of some sort. I enjoyed
all of their outfits, and
I am happy to report once
that desire.
So where does that leave
the professional performer?
We live our lives in public,
and we watch everyone
else do the same. We are,
in essence, performing/
chronicling/whatever on an
international stage, as well
as spectators to our friends
all doing the same.
It is, in many ways, selfcentered.
And there is both
good and bad that comes
with it.
On the one hand, we are
open, connected. And we
should, honestly, feel like
what we have to say and
what we do has value — the
kind of value to be shared
with the world.
But with that comes
the audacity to think that
everyone else should care.
It is easy to get lost in the
“me” aspect of social media.
Many are so caught up in
the performances that are
their daily lives that they
stop paying attention to others.
Who has the time?
National tragedies simply
become another opportunity
to make the day about us
and our feelings, but rarely
are we out on the streets
making a difference. Our
condolences are too often
simply another opportunity
to remind others that we
think we’re good people.
We’re all “stars,” but stars
again our bus stop is quite
fashionable!
The opinions of this column
are that of the writer. They do
not necessarily reflect those of
The Orland Park Prairie. Jackie
OBoyle is an Orland Park
resident who runs Jax Boutique
(www.jaxboutique.com) and
serves as a consultant for the
Etcetera women’s clothing line
out of New York (www.etcetera.
com).
that no one else really cares
about, because the audience
is too caught up in its own
stardom. Stars surprised that
other people might possibly
wait in a line to reward
someone for their work.
Stars who have no need for
people who toil for three
years on a standup special.
Stars who feel no need to
support a local business,
because, hell, we’re doing
cool things, too. Stars who
have no need for a professional
news reporter, because
everyone is a reporter
on Twitter, right?
It seems like everyone
has found a calling, a way
to connect, via social media,
and I think, just maybe,
there is a real value to be
found there. But it is hard
not to think that everything
else has somehow become
devalued in the process.
Sound Off Policy
Editorials and columns are the
opinions of the author. Pieces
from 22nd Century Media are
the thoughts of the company as
a whole. The Orland Park Prairie
encourages readers to write
letters to Sound Off. All letters
must be signed, and names and
hometowns will be published.
We also ask that writers include
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for verification, not publication.
Letters should be limited to 400
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reserves the right to edit letters.
Letters become property of The
Orland Park Prairie. Letters
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the thoughts and views of The
Orland Park Prairie. Letters
can be mailed to: The Orland
Park Prairie, 11516 West 183rd
Street, Unit SW Office Condo
#3, Orland Park, Illinois, 60467.
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