I admit it: I'm chained to my computer; I'm addicted to the Internet. Whether I'm at school or back home, my default location is in front of the monitor, relentlessly checking my e-mail and soaking up vast amounts of trivia.
Sometimes it's stuff I'm genuinely interested in, such as a report on the race for the Democratic presidential nomination or a review of an album by one of my favorite musicians. Other times, I find myself pouring over lame subject matter like the latest celebrity gossip or professional golf. Then there's that time-honored tradition of scrolling down my AOL Instant Messenger buddy list and reading everyone's away message, then checking again two minutes later. And again. And again.
Somehow, it all seems so important when I have to point and click to get to it, even if it's just a three-word snippet informing me that someone I haven't talked to since high school is at the library on some faraway campus.
If such a tiny morsel of personal information can monopolize my minutes, imagine the time I waste reading people's LiveJournals.
You're probably familiar with LiveJournal. Located online at http://www.livejournal.com, it is the most popular forum among youths for blogging - that is, posting an online diary, also known as a blog (short for web log). Let me explain why I think this phenomenon is the Devil, or at least the Loch Ness Monster.
It's certainly the opposite of keeping a private journal. Rather than chronicling one's most personal thoughts in a secret book hidden away under the bed, blogging involves posting those thoughts on the information superhighway. Thus, anyone using one of these things obviously wants it to be read.
While it may be therapeutic to write in, it's also a cry for attention. If someone really wants a secret diary, the World Wide Web isn't the place for it. That's so obvious that anyone who objects to having his online diary read is deluding himself.
Back in high school, I started a LiveJournal. Because I've never stayed dedicated to any sort of diary, I rarely updated it. And as far as I knew, no one read it.
Months after my most recent post, someone who was mentioned in my journal had a fit. She told me she had come across what I wrote and was quite upset. That's when I realized, Hey
this is private. I don't want people to read this!
But there are those who want people to read their posts. Some want somebody, anybody to read their blog and relate to their lives. Others set the journal up so only Web surfers designated as friends can read and post comments.
Even those who just use LiveJournal to vent to friends are kidding themselves. What a way to pour your heart out: en masse, with characters on a computer screen. And these gut-spillers' patterns are disgusting. They write incessantly about what a terrible person they are and how much life sucks, only to be greeted by swarms of responses from friends about how awesome U R! It's trying and anything but intimate.
However, it is convenient. In a computer-centered society, typing often is preferable to writing by hand. Unlike a book, a blog can't be forgotten at home, so as long as there is a computer with an Internet connection available, it's possible to update. It's a useful alternative to sending mass e-mails to report on the events of a vacation or an extended stay out of town. And snooping family members or roommates theoretically can't find it as easily as they could a book.
I erased my LiveJournal, but I kept the user name. Now I use it to keep track of the numerous CDs I buy and concerts I attend. The journal is mostly for me, but I won't lie: I would love people who like the same music I do to discover it, and thus to discover me.
The merits listed above prove LiveJournal doesn't have to be the beast it often becomes, if only people would save the personal information for a more appropriate venue, like a notebook or - get this - conversation. Nobody needs to read that stuff.
But I still will. I mean, I'll already be sitting there anyway.
Send him an e-mail him at the_ok_computer@hotmail.com 17
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Chris DeVille
