Friday 21 October 2011

mindless self-indulgence, or, dear critics:


Recently I've been getting some snide comments about the self-absorbed nature of blogging, which has got me thinking. Accusations of narcissism are common in this oddly convoluted virtual world of rampaging self-indulgence, and I've chosen to ignore them until now.

But the hell with it, this is my blog, and I shall do what I want with it. (Just look at my ego right there!)


Of course the act of broadcasting my thoughts and my life on the internet is inherently narcissistic. I wouldn't dare claim anything else. But really, the act of writing anything is deeply narcissistic. And I don't see why extending self-expression to blogging would be considered any more narcissistic than keeping a diary. 

I am well aware of the ridiculous paradox between my low self esteem and bone-deep egoism; there's no need for me to pretend humility and act affronted when faced with accusations of endless self-interest. I'm quite sure I know better than anyone just how selfish I am.

Most often I am criticized for self-pity, and my blogger friends tell me this is a common accusation. First World problems seems to be a popular term. I don't claim that my problems are any more pressing than anyone else's. I know most people suffer and have suffered more than me. But can anyone honestly say only bloggers complain needlessly, that only bloggers ever feel hopeless over small things and say it out loud? 


I am not forcing you to read this. You may well trot off on your merry way and forget this site ever existed, if you wish to do so. I assure you my feathers would remain quite unruffled. 


I don't feel the need to justify blogging, just as I don't feel the need to justify writing in general. I write and I blog simply because it's something I enjoy. I do it because I want to. 


It may seem as though the blogosphere is just a bunch of navel-gazing narcissists. In reality, each blogger has their own reasons for investing time, energy and emotions into writing, photographing and designing the blogs you read and hopefully enjoy. Play nice, and, if you have all these opinions you want to express over the internet, why not start your own blog? 


2 comments:

  1. look at this article my mom sent me: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AnxietyNews/expressive-writing-avoid-choking-pressure/story?id=12601491.

    blogging/writing/journaling is good! it helps us deal with life.

    go on and blog to your hearts desire.

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  2. There's a huge difference between Narcissism and Self-Expression which a lot of people tend to ignore. A blog is like a public diary. Diaries are therapeutic because they allow you to write openly, freely and fearlessly about all of the things you wish you could make a reality, or things that you just need to write down to sort out. We all have problems, and whether they're deemed "legitimate" by an outside source is completely irrelevant. Self-pity? Self-absorbed? Maybe if we tried to help people sort out their issues instead of harassing them for it we'd live in a nicer fucking society. Some people have it bad, and they deal with it. Some people have it worse, and they deal with it better. Resiliency isn't "one size fits all," so to judge someone for how they react to their personal hang-ups is asinine, short-sighted and ignorant. If your blog was nothing but air-headed complaining about everything, that would be a different story. But it isn't, because - as this post is so aptly tagged - you have deep thoughts.

    Blog your little heart out, and if anyone wants to give you shit for it, tell them they can go to hell.

    End of rant.

    xSummer

    ReplyDelete