Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
So last week I detailed my experiences with a sort-of Home Theater PC (HTPC), namely a laptop where I got experimental. I noted that I would discuss their place in the economy and the career implications. This of course, is that column because hey, I promised.
And here’s the answer: Not yet because there are way, way too many possible use cases and no real settled technologies, and what comes eventually will be gradual.
Quick, what are the signs someone is truly depressed? How do you recognize them?
I’m not entirely sure and I majored in Psychology (to be fair, a generalist), which really just means I’m better at looking them up. At least twice I know I missed it in people I was friends with. This of course doesn’t count times I missed it and didn’t know, which is a bit terrifying when you think about it.
There are many challenges facing us in helping friends, family, and ourselves when dealing with depression and other challenges of mood, personality, and mental functioning. However one of the greatest challenges is knowing when someone is depressed (or has another issue that needs treatment) in the first place, and our culture is not helping.
It’s not just that our popular culture is giving us terribly wrong ideas about mental illness and issues, as Ed the Sock so brilliantly illustrates.
It’s that our culture, I think, confuses us further.
We’re a culture that has gotten rather into grandiose displays of emotion, from happiness to sadness. We’re a reality TV culture where everything is spectacle, and we take our cues from media. We’re a culture where reality TV, sensationalist politics, media megachurches, and the like turn real life into an endless drama. We’re in a culture where people vie for attention and drama has become normalized.
You’ve doubtlessly heard the term “Emo,” which has nothing to do with the comedian, but evolved out of the music scene, and is often tossed around to mean agnsty over-emotionalism that people affect. We even have a repurposed term for being overly dramatic and angsty and self-destructive (missing, conveniently that some people may show these behaviors and really need help).
So in a culture of grand drama, how the hell do you sort out when someone has real problems as opposed to putting on an act? It’s far, far too easy to assume someone is being dramatic or having an affectation from culture because we’re used to our culture pushing that kind of behavior. We can miss real cries for help because of these assumptions.
Our culture also doesn’t provide people a way to reach out – because it is a culture of drama. Indeed, those who need help are provided few cultural tools for acquiring it; some may even take on cultural affectations from our overly dramatic culture as it seems to be the right (or only) way to get the attention they need. We don’t provide methods for people who need help to signal it.
To help those who need it, family and friends, we have to work around our culture. That’s rather sad.
But work we must.
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.
Mythicon is a convention in Orlando Florida that draws quite a cast of guests, runs a variety of events, and does their best to serve the fans, geeks, and otaku in Florida and beyond with one big convention. They’re in their first year and are hitting the ground running – you may have heard about them if you’re in the area.
But what you may not here is how they make sure there’s great career-oriented events.
First, they do open casting stage events – and the people who make it in get 3 to 4 months of training. That’s right, actual training and experience they can use (and put on a resume). It also helps when your convention is near, say Disney and Universal!
That’s the kind of practical work I like to see – and it goes beyond the convention’s 3 days. It’s about making a real comittment to the attendees and their ambitions – and taking advantage of the local area.
But that’s not all. Mythicon also relies on their guests and helps them create good events.
Each guest is specifically asked about how they can do panels to help the attendees reach their goals and their dreams. It may be a guest who’s a big name speaking on how to get known. It could be a well known actor explaining how they broke in. Mythicon cultivates the guests to find what they can share – and encourages them to connect with the fans.
Between the long-term commitment of the show to cultivating guests’ panels, Mythicon sounds like a convention a lot of us could be following. Come to think of it, a lot of us should be attending as well . . .
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.