Dancing Naked
Aug 8th, 2007 by lisa
I finally got around to reading through my local library’s blog. And while perusing the archives, this post caught my attention, and got me thinking.
In it, one of the librarians makes an interesting observation on how we jealously guard our privacy, and yet some of us are so willing (and eager) to ‘expose ourselves’ on da internetz.
Funny thing is, we seem to be our own worst enemies when it comes to keeping our private thoughts, feelings and activities actually private. Instead we seem to relish flaunting our most intimate ideas, emotions and everyday life through e-mail, chatting and blogging, or as On Point host Tom Ashbrook aptly put it, “dancing naked on the Internet,” both figuratively, and sometimes literally.
It is a curious thing, isn’t it? But hasn’t there always been a genre of published journals, memoirs and confessional prose? In this case it is self-published and exists on the web instead of on paper, but essentially it is the same thing.
So why is it so surprising that some people are quite willing to share their lives, their thoughts, dreams and opinions with everyone else on the web? Maybe it’s a bit of exhibitionism and a quest for a type of immortality that makes us do it. Maybe it’s just a longing to be part of the greater community. Maybe we just like talking about ourselves. Who doesn’t?.
I think there are still some people who don’t understand what blogging is, and therefore fear it. They don’t see the good it does, or the potential that is has to bring people together in a very real sense in a way you can’t achieve easily without it. There is also the Greater Media who insist that bloggers need to ‘get off their lawn’ and stop engaging in the very ‘cub reporting’ from which the media as we know it now once grew. There are those who simply don’t care, much as there are people who don’t care what’s on television or who is on the bestseller list. And that’s a good thing, because we would simply stagnate if everyone was interested in all the same things.
There is certainly a lot of dreck in the blogosphere. There are many stillborn blogs started by folks who did it because it was the ‘thing to do’ and lost interest after a few (sometimes the initial) post. And as long as there are hateful, stupid people with access to a computer, there is going to be hateful stupid content on the web. It’s like anything in life; you take the bad with the good. You defend your opposer’s right to express himself to protect your own ability to write or speak freely.
So why does someone blog? Why do I blog? A complete answer to that question would fill another post. But a short answer would be that blogging is fun, it makes me happy, and I enjoy sharing my thoughts, ideas, experiences and photographs with anyone who is interested. I get many repeat visitors. So someone must be enjoying it. I write for them as much as I write for myself.
Journaling has been a part of my life for many, many years. Writing gives me an opportunity to capture my thoughts and feelings at the time I’m having them. Later, I can take a look at what I’ve written to see how much things have changed.
Blogging is an extension of journaling for me. It is an exciting and creative way to express myself. In the nearly two years I’ve been on the internet I have learned a great deal, not only about my computer, but myself and best of all about the world around me. You see, I’m one of those people who truly does not care what’s on TV, it’s been off since Nov. 2005. I can honestly say I’m better informed now through this media than I have been at any other time in my life.
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you so much for the link.
Hi, I found you through the Nice Matters award, and am really enjoying what I’ve seen of your blog today.
I thought I’d comment on this post because I, too, sometimes wonder why I blog, and because the question of “dancing naked” is an interesting one.
I don’t use my full name in my blog and regard that as a little bit of practical safety, but even if I don’t say everything I could, I blog honestly (and comment honestly on others’ blogs).
I think that if we were all truthful about ourselves, there wouldn’t be so much loneliness and so much desperation, because we would realise we are not alone. So blogging can be a really valuable as well as fun activity, and an opportunity to stay stuff that kinda doesn’t fit into the coffee break at work as well as sharing the lighter side of things.