(no subject)
So a discussion at the Berkshire house led to the subject of the internet today, and blogging/journaling came up. Kathy said that anyone who posted in an online journal is self-absorbed and vain to think there are people out there who live off of seeing your news and that the whole thing was pointless. I felt kind of hurt, but I do wonder, what is it that brings us back to online journals?
I write in this journal because I like to think people are interested in my life, and since we all can't be in constant contact, knowing what's up in other people's lives makes me feel connected to my friends in some way. I told her it was kind of like the yearly Christmas letter, just more often, and she said, "well isn't it just like emailing a bunch of people all at once and hoping for a response?" I had to say no, it's different, but I'm not sure how. So then AJ said that it was pretty much because an email is directed towards specific people, so you have to be mindful of your audience, but in a journal you can't be as self-involved as you want and your readers can all screw themselves.
So I'm confused. I've always loved hearing about my friends and what's going on in their lives, but what actually drives us all to write specifically on the internet? If we wanted a chronicle of our lives, why not write in a paper journal? I do that too, but why write in a paper journal even if no one was going to read it? does that make it a self-absorbed activity in and of itself?
I write in this journal because I like to think people are interested in my life, and since we all can't be in constant contact, knowing what's up in other people's lives makes me feel connected to my friends in some way. I told her it was kind of like the yearly Christmas letter, just more often, and she said, "well isn't it just like emailing a bunch of people all at once and hoping for a response?" I had to say no, it's different, but I'm not sure how. So then AJ said that it was pretty much because an email is directed towards specific people, so you have to be mindful of your audience, but in a journal you can't be as self-involved as you want and your readers can all screw themselves.
So I'm confused. I've always loved hearing about my friends and what's going on in their lives, but what actually drives us all to write specifically on the internet? If we wanted a chronicle of our lives, why not write in a paper journal? I do that too, but why write in a paper journal even if no one was going to read it? does that make it a self-absorbed activity in and of itself?