We are connected as a society as never before, from breaking news to sports, culture and the Kardashians.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, you name it, and we not only know it, we've seen it and registered a hot-take, instant reaction and opinion about it.
YouTube has crossed over from a niche landing site to its own TV station, for crying out loud.
Jay GreesonThe social ripples are never going to go backward. Not when dancing cat videos, crying Michael Jordan memes and grandparents everywhere comparing photos of their little ones to their friends' bundles of joy compete for your attention.
With that in mind, here were some of the clear and striking images of the last week, and the hundred or so words that likely were running through their minds.
Pat McCrory's "I'll take what I can get" face
The North Carolina governor has been caught in the middle after his state's decision to pass a controversial law regarding transgender people and bathrooms. With hot-button decisions like this, there frequently come backlashes, and McCrory's images from the weekend included the news that Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in North Carolina and cited the decision. The governor then called Springsteen a bully. No word whether Bruce said, "Sticks and stones " but you get the idea. McCrory then backed his man Justin Bieber, who had a show in the state. (Odds McCrory knows a single Bieber song? We'd say low.) Wonder if McCrory thinks Bryan Adams and his traveling band of 1980s hit makers following The Boss' lead and boycott is good or bad news. Probably kind of a push.
Paul Ryan's "Yep, this convention is going to stink" face
The back-and-forth between the GOP frontrunners can feel head-poundingly agonizing and take on the sound of Charlie Brown's teachers. Ryan, though, is caught in the middle and could well be the guy who generates a lot of support at the Republican convention, even though he's not running. In fact, the latest odds of winning the GOP nomination are as follows: Trump is 1-to-1; Ted Cruz is 2-to-1; John Kasich is 10-to-1; and Ryan's odds range from 9-to-1 to 18-to-1. Tough to know if his look is more of shock or "awe-shucks, this is going to be awkward."
Donald Trump's "Daddy" face
A lot of Ryan's consternation has been caused by The Donald, for better and for worse. The social media jabs at Trump have varied. In a lot of ways, he's the political personification - again, for better and worse - of the entirety of social media. Most of his platform feels as deep as a 140-character tweet, and his following has the passion and energy of a viral Facebook post. As for his face of today, well, here's the look of a presidential candidate, knowing that every vote counts and then realizing his kids did not register to vote in the New York primary. Ouch.
Jordan Spieth's "That $*%&*&^ 12th hole" face
The 2015 Masters champ was well on his way to a repeat performance until the diabolical 12th hole Sunday became his watery demise. Two shots into Rae's Creek and bye-bye history. He handled the post-match news conference as well as could be expected, but the images of him Sunday evening after the implosion were raw. Since the defending champ puts the jacket on the new champ, Spieth had a front-row seat for the Danny Willett celebration. Heck, even the Willett family had to feel a little bad for Spieth.
Bernie Sanders' only face
In truth, the Democratic challenger to Hillary's predetermined nomination has two. He has the face shown, in which he is telling everyone how great socialism is even though he's running for the highest office in the world's biggest democracy - and as a Democrat no less. Then there's his laughing face, in which he's a cross between your odd uncle Walter, who misquotes movie lines and falls asleep standing up at family functions, and the villain mastermind in a made-for-TV movie on a B-cable network.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. His "Right to the Point" column runs on A2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.