It comes with unwritten warning labels and hidden implications. I am the master of complicated. I am the queen of over-explaining, theorizing and analyzing. I reject simplicity in almost every form, it’s almost a chronic condition. But when I say simplicity is dangerous, I do not mean to oversimplify that statement, but I mean to say that simplicity with the absence of context is what our (millennial) generation thrives on. Our culture changes almost too fast too keep anything relevant for too long so that one can even sit with a thought and ponder long enough about what it means. We binge on people’s expressions through social media, memes and video clips.
Here’s a simple, yet appropriate segue into talking about food. I learned about nutrition from the internet because it was never really taught at school. I learned about the difference between simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs include soda, candy, sugar, white rice. Complex carbs include whole grains and leafy green vegetables (you know, the kind they decorate plates with at fancy restaurants). Simple carbs get broken down in the body quickly and spike blood sugar, while complex carbs, along with their multiple other benefits, take longer to digest.
I am all for simple when I need to convey information quickly; Twitter and Facebook statuses, the occasional Instagram post. Sometimes there’s unexplored depth but the objective is never to expect that people will sit too long and examine every word because the reality is no one does. I admire people who have read the things I write, who’ve taken the time to properly “digest” the thoughts that I share and allow themselves to explore the depths of what I have to say. The truth is, there are limits to words and there are limits to social media sharing that need to be acknowledged. There’s every little that can be done to correct someone’s negative opinions of something you’ve said if they don’t approach you. Simplicity, in that case, isn’t really my fault, or your fault if you’ve ever dealt with being misunderstood for your words. There are times when I sift through shared posts and writings, looking for complexity where it isn’t, and in many cases where it doesn’t belong. I think if I’ve learned anything about food from the internet it’s that you can’t expect to find complex carbs in a candy store.
Even in this post, there is the danger of simplicity, resting in assumptions and lack of context. There’s no story, just words on a page meant to take the shape and the life of its interpreter. Perhaps it is what it is, with nothing to examine and search into, but I admonish you to ask more questions and become more complex (but not complicated like me, not everyone can handle that kind of existence). I would love for this to be a simple prompt that awakens the need to know and explore context, read stories and acknowledge the nuances of life outside of the click bait.
