DISQUS

antje wilsch · 1 year ago

Interesting post Mathew!
Good insight: "a kind of stress-testing approach, as though by subjecting that person to the full glare of the public floodlights, they could ensure that their significant other was good enough to hang onto."
- true for some cases; probably the myriad of reasons people publicly go through is as varied as the reasons relationships fail.

It's true that reasons for writing about ourselves is narcisstic, vain, or a need for attention or just purely validation of Self. It's also true that there are more important things to write about that impact the world and future generations.

But being noble can be exhausting, and not everyone is cut out to be a world shaker. It's why the world-shakers stick out. Most peoples' worlds are pretty narrow. I'd say that a lot of people are lost, hurt, lonely, scared, curious, wanting to know if they're normal, looking for some validation. This often comes from seeing other people, particularly if they're in the public eye and good looking, going through the same things as we do, but being emotionally impacted and wondering if we're crazy....

I was standing in line once at a supermarket behind two young adult, hispanic females, heavily made-up, overweight, dressed in flashy clothes and gawdy jewelry paying with food stamps (the reason why I mention these facts is in reality they are about as far away from hollywood as anyone) talking about "Brad" and "Jennifer" and "Angie" as though they were discussing their BFFs. This disconnect between facing the harsh realities of their own lives and into the glamorous lives of others is as old as the hills. Schadenfreude and voyeurism go hand in hand to validate that our lives aren't just "quiet lives of desperation" or if they are, others are too.

Maggy Young · 1 year ago

'a new, Internet enabled disorder ?' It all reflects a craving for attention in whatever way, and there is nothing new about this. It's just that the net is comparatively new, so now it's found a way on to the net. Isn't a need for attention supposed to be the prime motivator for many actors, comedians & entertainers ? Maybe this applies in turn to some bloggers to.

mathewi · 1 year ago

You're quite right, Maggy -- the craving for attention that seems to
drive bloggers like Emily and Julia isn't really anything new. I
guess it's just that the Internet gives those kinds of people a lot
more outlets for their craving.