People always talk about the internet as being sort of "anti-social" and "childish" and "uncommunicative". This makes no sense to me, several of my fairly good friends, and Christian encouragers were met at the Classical Christian online school that I took Latin from (for a brief time, and hope to take more again). For a while, they were pretty much my only friends, as at that point I had no one to associate with at church, was homeschooled (still am, but being at the public school three days a week for band allows you to meet some people), and even in the homeschool group, there weren't very many people I shared any interests with, etc.
I particularly like blogging, which is looked on by some as being almost down-right wicked, and certainly selfish. I suppose it is self-centered of me to post my thoughts on the World-Wide-Web, and expect them to be read and commented on, but in general I expect nothing of the kind. I'm humble as they come (eh, what?).
Blogging allows one to organize one's thoughts, to record the events of the day, and to instruct oneself, by reading what you wrote (seriously, sometimes, it's like my subconscious takes over, and I don't know what I'm writing 'til I'm done). Some would say that a private journal would serve just as well, and be less assuming, but a personal journal does not allow you to keep up with you less-than-personal friends (the sort of people whose lives interest you, and you love to interact with, but who you do not know particularly closely), and to practice your prose. I would say that my writing, grammar, and spelling have improved greatly since I began blogging on my xanga. Which, by the way, brings me to the point of why I have this blog. The fact is, I cannot remain serious on my xanga, and besides that, each post on my xanga is a work of art, a carefully crafted one, designed to make people laugh or smile or whatever. A blog where fewer (not less) people read could be an excellent thing, as I may feel less pressure to keep the jokes coming. Not, of course, that that is a facade. Quite the reverse! However, I do enjoy being serious once and a while, but I worry that no one can take you seriously if you make it your serious buisness to make people laugh. Anyway, blogging is a method of communication that can be both effective and enjoyable.
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2 comments:
Sarie, I agree. The Xanga sites I have seen do not look like places where one could remain serious. I think blogger sites tend to be much more suited to serious thought.
And yes, some Xanga sites are likely venial sin, perhaps even mortal sin. But using the internet to connect with believers who are a little out of the way in the physical realm seems, to me, to be eminently reasonable.
Keep reading, thinking, and writing. Honing your thoughts will be shown to have been a valuable use of your time. After all, you don't think De Civitae Deo or De Libero Arbitrio or Confessiones were the first things Augustine wrote, do you? You've already got a head start on him, anyway, for your writings are god-centered from the start.
Hmmm... I think we use Xanga and Blogger for the same things, and we think the same of grownups on Xanga-- BAH! Well, the serious grownups (Not naming any names here). The ones that blog for family and friends are a little different, but the angry or ignorant or downright SERIOUS grownups on Xanga are only an embarrassment to themselves!
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