Wednesday, October 12, 2005

we hold these truths to be self-evident....

Cyber-Catharsis: Bloggers Use Web Sites as Therapy
Well duh! Washington Post! Could've told you *that* one!

ah...but is blogging-as-therapy a form of citizen journalism?? (be careful how you answer that one...)

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6 comments:

Jenny D. said...

Hi Tish. That's it. just hi

Tish Grier said...

hi Jenny! perhaps we'll run into each other again sometime :-)

Anonymous said...

It's definitely therapy, and not just in the form of confessional writing. On my depressed days, the routine of writing something--anything--every day forces me out of my lethargy. Best of all are the days when I get a couple of comments; knowing that someone is reading can lift me out of a blue funk and make me engage again.

Tish Grier said...

I agree, T. Blogging gives the writer the chance to say what needs to be said--unimpeded and uninterruped. What's said can even be taken back (as in deleted.)

Blogs create conversation and community. And it's great when people comment! It's that conversation and community that alleviates the lonliness that can come with physical and/or mental illness. sometimes just being able to compare notes about a condition with someone on the other side of the world can make a huge difference. blogs become a way we share information about conditions and can help one another. even in the best communities, resources, information, and community can be limited.

the therapeutic benefits of sharing one's concerns is as old as the hills. that's why it's so surprising about the "discovery"

:-)
T.

Gena said...

The conversation and community part is one of the reasons that I do what I do.

It is not so much therapy for me but therapy for the constant droning of "buy, use, and consume. We use to know each other or at least talk to exchange information.

I think that blogging can help to counter-balance the traditional MSM mindset. I hope so.

Tish Grier said...

Gena...I totally agree with you. The "buy-consume" message is stultifying. There's so much more to life than that. Sometimes the people around us are so consumed with that that they talk about nothing else. Blogging def. becomes a way to connect with people who want to talk about something other than American Idol and what Tommy Hilfiger is up to.