People blog for many reasons: to feel like they have a voice, to think out their issues, to share their journey in life, and to give others advice. I've honestly always been critical of blogs because I feel that a lot of the time bloggers are very self-involved. They want their voice to be heard and some will post on Facebook about their blog, practically begging people to read it. Sometimes it comes across as desperate and like people are recording too much of their lives, like what sandwich they ate that day. Most people don't really care about all of the details of others' lives because everyone somewhat self-absorbed. Yet, I'm here recording my thoughts on this blog being hypocritical, though this is for class. The article, "Why We Blog" addresses these issues and helped me to understand that not all bloggers act this way.
A man, Don, mentioned in the article, utilized a blog to track the progress of his wife's illness and treatment. This, to me, is something that should be recorded, especially for family members or friends who want to know what's going on and desire to help in some way without being an annoyance. Evan, a graduate student, posted his comments on diseases and science education. Though some might find his blog a hard read, they are intellectual responses that teach others of these issues while bringing to light some of his ideas that have stemmed from his research. Both of these uses for blogs are definitely appropriate, but what about blogs that serve as "catharsis".
I enjoyed the quote from Max, mentioned in the article, that blogging "endorses [are] laziness and cowardice". I guess that's why blogging as "catharsis" aggravates me. We should not hide behind a screen to share our opinions, beliefs, ideas. We should act on them and live out what we feel strongly about. But this is just my take in my biased rant in my cathartic blog.
I agree with you when you say people should not be afraid to share thoughts. Hiding behind a screen in order to say what you're thinking is indeed cowardice. I can see how people would like to keep rude thoughts to themselves to save people's feelings, but then it shouldn't be posted on the internet either, not just in case they read it, but because it's ethically wrong to talk about people. We all talk about people and we all complain about stupid things. I wish we lived in a society where it was okay to just tell someone when they're being a pain in the butt because it could help the person stop being a pain and no one would feel the need to hide their feelings behind a screen.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very well written post that I agree with on so many levels. I don't think social media and blogging are the same thing but sometimes users treat their social media as a blog. Also, there are hundreds of bullies and trolls who use the barrier of the internet to be mean and torment people. One of the biggest reasons someone uses the internet is so that their thoughts and opinions can be seen by many more people. I agree with your post completely, but something a lot of people seem to forget is that the internet was made to communicate with others. Maybe someone isn't hiding their thoughts behind a screen and instead is trying to spread the words to many others, outside of the people they can physically talk to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say you were critical of blogs. Before reading this article, I was the same way. I did realize though that even though some bloggers sound desperate for people to read their "latest post," that may be the only way they can express themselves. I agree that hiding your thoughts behind a screen seems cowardice, but I am trying to have an open mind to think that it may not be as easy for some people to express themselves out loud.
ReplyDelete