Blogging

Blogging

Blogging, for me is a new phenomenon that i have only recently heard about and looked into. There are many online blogs that are easily accessible on the world wide web these days that talk about everything and anything. A range of different people are involved in blogging from all over the world, which they choose to do either purely for enjoyment, escapism from the stresses of daily life or have academic influences in writing blogs.


In terms of recreational blogging, for some people it can be very addictive, for example following a blog that people read 'religiously', or even when writing a blog; it can become a way of life, similar to keeping a diary.
After looking at a variety of different blogs online, I've come to find that the content of what is shared within a blog varies with each one, from exploring personal issues such as discussing health problems to indulging in different hobbies, including swimming and baking.
However, in some blogs there is the question of whether the content of the topics discussed is too personal to be discussed openly and readily available on the Internet, crossing boundaries of what is considered to be private information entering the public sphere. This becomes a common question as there are many instances where some people do not hold back with what they share in their blogs, sometimes i do ask myself when looking through blogs, did i really need to know that?!

This lack of maintaining privacy can be seen as a result of the emergence of modernity, as with the increase of social networking and the increasing intrusiveness of the media/press, topics of conversation that were once considered to be only spoken of in private (if spoken about at all) are now commonly spoken about daily with everyone and everywhere! 

Cultural changes within society have lead on to the development of a popular culture of 'bloggers', especially from the start of modernity in the twenty first century. There have been major cultural and technological advancements throughout society, as Jill Walker Rettberg mentions, "the introduction of print, spread of literacy and the expanding access to the Internet"(2008:2), that have all been  building blocks towards the emergence of the desirable blogging culture. The desire to 'write' came as a result of books and publications being readily available within society and from this it has continued to expand as technologies have, on to the Internet.

Parsons makes the distinction between two types of societies; traditional society and modern society. He highlights that there are key differences that set these two apart, one of them being a need for self orientation and individualism in a modern society. Rather than having a collective orientation individuals should strive for their own self interests and ultimately form their own self identity. Blogging can be seen as a way of expressing oneself, sharing personal thoughts and values, in which Parsons would see as concurring to a modern society. 

Giddens explains in his book 'Modernity and Self-identity' that "modernity radically alters the nature of day-to-day social life and effects the most personal aspects of our experience" suggesting that the changes that came with modernity have influenced this new popular blogging culture. This point made by Giddens further suggests that the onset of modern society has had an effect on what is considered to be the 'personal' entering the public sphere. With the developments of modernity have come changes in the way society thinks and acts, hence the popularity of blogging today.

Although blogging is often considered to be a relatively knew craze that is getting more popular by the day, there are elements of the 'blogging culture' that can be seen prior to the onset of modernity, for example, back in the day - prior to the 21st century, many people kept diaries and wrote letters to one another recording the special events or 'goings on' in their lives or venting their fears and stresses into a diary over things that were not considered acceptable to talk about. These are often subjects of discussion that inform the majority of blogs today, however now they are written on a larger scale, publicly and widely available to everyone, as opposed to being kept as personal diary entries. 

Blogs are not only used for recreational means, they can also be used academically to discuss topics such as social movements or global events that are happening in the news - people can often overlook this and just consider blogs to be a bit of fun. As well as academics using blogging as a means for academic discussion, blogs can be used as research tools, as a means of collecting secondary data. This is highly beneficial for social researchers in particular, for multiple reasons, as there is plenty of information readily available, searches can easily be refined and it saves a hell of a lot of time in comparison to the many other methods of research. 

As a student looking to develop knowledge and gain experience as a social researcher, I would definitely consider using blogging as a way of collecting information about a research study. It is only recently, since I have looked into blogging for this module, that I have realised  that blogging could be used for this purpose and on reflection I feel that it would be a really interesting way of gathering research, not to mention the time it saves compared to having to transcribe interviews and focus groups etc.