Week Two: Online Representation of the Self

 

1.     I am a very open person so writing about myself online does not bother me in the slightest. The choice to leave our blogs anonymous only allows me to be more comfortable because I do not need to worry about someone I know finding my blog. These diary entries being uploaded to these blogs are important works. Sharing our personal thoughts and dreams online is important as there is most likely another person out there feeling the same way or aiming for the same goal in life and they’ll benefit from hearing another’s experience. I don’t believe oversharing could make you lose your voice and purpose, but I do think it could make you lose your audience. Oversharing or getting too real with people sometimes makes them uncomfortable; They are not used to such vulnerability and raw emotion being offered freely. There are definitely times in which a writer needs to consider if they are sharing too much about themselves and if that sharing could benefit or interest their audience in anyway. If there is no purpose to that oversharing, you begin to give away parts of yourself too freely; While you may not lose your voice, it may get drowned out for your audience as they get lost in the sea of personal information spewed at them.

2.     I believe people are interested in reading other’s journals because we have a natural curiosity about the unknown. We want to know what’s going in other’s heads, what their true intentions and motivations are. Part of it is to find another person with similar thoughts and experiences to yourself as to not feel alone, whereas others merely seek to step into someone else’s shoes. This is not a only modern day issue, though it has become more prevalent in our society solely due to the ease of access. Diaries and journals were often published in the past and became very popular in some cases, demonstrating the long existence of this consumption of private and personal works. This natural curiosity to see through another’s eyes is a natural human characteristic; it has always existed within us.

3.     I would say that the reason readers are able to get such a clear look into the mind of the author is that most diaries are written in a stream of consciousness style. A diary is simply meant to get your thoughts down on paper, and to do so often requires this type of writing. These diary entries often consist of the author’s emotions and internal conflicts and are often started with no intention to share them with anyone else. Because these entries are typically written for themselves only, the author does not feel the need to follow any strict guidelines or formal rules for their writing; They are able to focus on the content and meaning behind their words instead. The author can still learn from this writing but more so in terms of finding their own voice. In these private moments, we often reveal more of ourselves than we are willing to do with an audience and thus these entries are more likely to contain our authentic voice as a writer. It is important for a writer to find that voice and instill it in all of their works and these diaries help achieve this. However, the audience can also learn from these entries. We learn from our interactions with other people every day, thus interacting with one’s diary should follow the same principle. These works allow people to find shared experiences with one another and make connections, or to place themselves in the shoes of someone else. People are either able to relate to the writer through these entries or gain a new perspective, both of which allow the reader to grow and learn, thus demonstrating the importance of these pieces.

4.     I don’t believe diary writers are or should be concerned with grammatical issues or censorship. These entries are for themselves and thus it does not matter whether they are perfectly written or if they reveal too much information. However, this changes once these entries are put online. Once uploaded online these entries hold a bit more weight as they are now being shared so openly. Because of this, I would choose to pay more attention to the spelling and organization of the entry. A work, even a diary entry, with extremely poor grammar or organization can be difficult to follow and may take away some of the credibility and importance of the piece. I would not go so far as to say that the works need to be edited and organized in the same manner as a formal publication, but I feel some consideration of the grammar of the piece is necessary. In consideration of the issue of name dropping, it is very important to be cautious. It is ultimately up to the writer how much information they want to share publicly but using someone’s real name in a piece could create issues both for that person and the author themselves. Unless the person the writer is naming has consented to being included within their public entry, I find it improper and risky to do so. These diary entries may be open and personal, but some censorship is needed once shared with the public.