lately that I want to blog about. I think I have enough items on my topic list for another 25 days! Not to mention that I need to be mindful to keep my blogging time down to a minimum over this next 3 weeks – something I am finding difficult, so I really need to keep the breaks on my urge to blog. So putting away current events for the moment until a time I can do justice in my comments about them, I decided to pose a question today: Why is blogging so addictive and do other bloggers find that this is so also?
Well the first thing I discovered as I explored this topic, is that there are a lot of folks out there convinced that it is an addition and that they may be an addict.
The topic was well explored way back in 2004 in a New York Times article I found.
For Some, The Blogging Never Stops - New York Times
Why is it addictive? Well, if you are up on your addiction theory there is a basic addictive personality, but I am going to leave that aside for the moment and comment on the rewards provided by blogging which (from my research) cause folks to keep pumping the stuff out. Firstly, it the the belief that you are leaving a permanent mark on the world for all to see. (Well, maybe it is a virtual mark on the real world, but it is a mark none the less). Secondly, the lure of the following. The delusion that there is an audience out there who is lapping the stuff up that you are spewing out. Apparently, it is all the worse if this audience is not a delusion, because then the payback is even greater! Lastly, we bloggers get joy out of reading our own blogs. Somehow, there is joy to be had in experiencing our own creations. OK, so lots of reasons to blog, but is it really a problem? An addiction?
After reading a few blogs about blog addiction and noting that there were over 12 pages of google links, mostly to bloggers who had a subject line “I am addicted to blogging”, I found a quiz: Are you a blog addict? Interestingly, you can be addicted to reading blogs or writing blogs or both - they seem to go hand in hand... hmm, lately I have been reading more blogs, searching out ideas and seeing how other bloggers "do it"... Maybe trouble! Anyway, I took the quizz. You might want to as well!
http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/blog_addiction
My score?51%
http://activerain.com/blogsview/22023/Betty-Ford-for-Bloggers
With that, just to prove I am not addicted, I shall end this blog now and go back to studying. Got to run through those flash cards one more time before bed!
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I think one of the reasons why blogging can be so enjoyable is because it's a method of communication that has a different mechanic than more traditional forms, and therefore serves a different purpose.
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean by this is, we all like to talk about ourselves. Whether we like to admit it or not, it's nice to talk about how our day went, or what we're doing in our spare time, or about the neat thing we saw at the store, or the exhilarating trip we took. Normally, this conjures up the image of a couple sitting together while one blabs on about their day to the (obviously bored) other person.
Blogging is a way of allowing this communication without the negative aspects of the above mentioned stereotype. It lets us write about these things, lets us get them out, and in that alone there is satisfaction.
The even better part is that, when this kind of information is put into written word - where you have time to say exactly what it is you want to say - it becomes less "boring day-to-day minutiae" and more about the thoughts and feelings of the blogger *during* the day-to-day events. For instance, in a conversation, we might tell someone about how we went for a relaxing drive in the country. The listener might think, "That sounds nice," and not think twice about it. In a blog, though, we can write about the reason *why* we want to talk about it, if that makes sense. It allows us to convey that kind of information more efficiently, and therefore it's a more satisfactory form of communication for that purpose.
The best part is, that same reason makes it interesting to read. I enjoy reading what my friends and family are thinking about. I like seeing the Warhammer models that others have created, and reading about how they created them. It's a very good way of feeling connected to people, and because it's a blog, I can do it at my leisure.
Anyway, that's my theory. And I proved it in this comment, because I just spent longer than I should have talking about my own thoughts on the matter!