Fenland Woman: Obsessive Blogging
...I don't think it's healthy for anyone to spend an hour a day writing about their innermost thoughts, unless a psychiatrist has told them that they need to do so...
Claire advises that going out and meeting people is healthier than obsessive blogging.
I used to keep a personal diary style blog, detailing my frustrations and hopes for the future. I found it very helpful because writing aids me in decision making. I'm also someone that appreciates advice from others who have had similar experiences, so I liked getting comments.
I must confess though that this kind of blogging encouraged me to be narcissistic and self-centered.
I don't think it's healthy for anyone to spend an hour a day writing about their innermost thoughts, unless a psychiatrist has told them that they need to do so. My navel gazing encouraged me to focus on insignificant problems and turn them into mountains.
If I was worried about something I repeatedly wrote about it until I became stuck in a groove and unable to think about anything else.
My self-absorption spread beyond the allotted hour because like many bloggers I composed posts in my head while doing other things. Eventually, I am ashamed to say, my blogging topics became my sole subject of conversation. I cringe to think about it now.
I'm sure that my blogging addiction arose because I was a graduate school student. I spent a great deal of time on my own studying and writing. My isolation undoubtedly encouraged my behavior, and I'm positive that other blog addicts are also using the Internet as a substitute for human contact. When I first arrived in Korea I was still a keen blogger because as a foreigner I was very isolated.
I don't think that having a personal diary on the Web is a bad thing as long as the writer isn't too attached to it. To anyone who is as addicted to their online diary as I was, I would say "go out and be with people."
I finally stopped personal diary style blogging when it began to seem pointless. I no longer benefited from interaction with other bloggers because I had enough human contact in my daily life.
The sense that I was holding my inner life up to the judgment of strangers also became too strong. The readers' interest in me stopped being a comfort and finally felt intrusive. I was irritated by even the most well intentioned comments. I was fed up with being a soap opera.
