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Jul. 18th, 2001 12:11 amWriting about myself on a daily basis has made me more introspective. Reading the daily introspection of others here has made me realize how dangerous this is. When you write in a journal, you are reflecting on yourself from your own view. Like two mirrors facing each other, the image can be infinitely deep, but after a while the information is useless. But since you are just writing for yourself, that's ok. It doesn't matter what you say because you are the only one who sees it.
Here on LJ things are different. While it is possible to make a totally private online journal, I haven't found anyone who does. Almost everything here is written with the understanding that other people will read it. For starters, people censor themselves. Things that would go in a normal journal are either altered, anonomyzed or omitted completely. Then there are the things that would never go in a normal journal. Things that you know, so you would never write to yourself. Finally, and most interesting and disturbing, are the things that go in because people want them to be seen.
There are people on LJ who are doing this as a strange form of textual exhibitionism. Nakedparts aside, this is a place where people say things because they want them read by others. This is what I love and hate about LJ. There are people here who use this as a valid form of personal expression. Alas, there are others here who use this as a form of personal validation. They use LJ to make themselves more interesting, to validate a less then truthful self image and to receive feedback that just proves that more people are paying attention to them.
So I continue LiveJournaling. All the time wary that I'm doing this for the wrong reasons. I don't think that I'm going to be a completely self obsessed navel gazer anytime soon, but I'll keep watching my posts to see if I start behaving differently. And you, my friends are free to Ahab me in my egomaniacal ass if I ever start taking this too seriously and writing for the wrong reasons.
So tune in tomorrow, when I will recount my entire sexual history... it should take about 5 paragraphs. :)
Here on LJ things are different. While it is possible to make a totally private online journal, I haven't found anyone who does. Almost everything here is written with the understanding that other people will read it. For starters, people censor themselves. Things that would go in a normal journal are either altered, anonomyzed or omitted completely. Then there are the things that would never go in a normal journal. Things that you know, so you would never write to yourself. Finally, and most interesting and disturbing, are the things that go in because people want them to be seen.
There are people on LJ who are doing this as a strange form of textual exhibitionism. Nakedparts aside, this is a place where people say things because they want them read by others. This is what I love and hate about LJ. There are people here who use this as a valid form of personal expression. Alas, there are others here who use this as a form of personal validation. They use LJ to make themselves more interesting, to validate a less then truthful self image and to receive feedback that just proves that more people are paying attention to them.
So I continue LiveJournaling. All the time wary that I'm doing this for the wrong reasons. I don't think that I'm going to be a completely self obsessed navel gazer anytime soon, but I'll keep watching my posts to see if I start behaving differently. And you, my friends are free to Ahab me in my egomaniacal ass if I ever start taking this too seriously and writing for the wrong reasons.
So tune in tomorrow, when I will recount my entire sexual history... it should take about 5 paragraphs. :)
