The Problem (?) with Blogs (at least, my problem.)
I spend a lot of my time reading anime blogs, especially more opinionated ones. Of course, I usually have my own opinion about an anime, but I read them to gain new perspectives on the anime I watch. But recently, it seems as if I just absorb those opinions into my own. My own voice seems to be lost in an avalanche of other opinions. Each thing I read shapes what I think.
So what?
This probably says something about me. I don’t really have the strongest opinions in the world, and I usually believe what I read. Does that mean I should stop reading blogs? I’d say not. This might just be a phase: confusion about what I think I believe. It’s easier to say what somebody else thinks than to formulate my own opinion (religion?). Hopefully I’ll grow out of it. Maybe it’s just part of growing up. I wouldn’t know.
I remember reading somewhere about a psychological study which showed that one person could change the opinions of a whole group just by asserting his or her opinions over and over again, by staying to it. Opinionated blog writers are sort of like that, voicing their opinions over and over again. Though, it is probably human nature to express one’s opinion. At least, to some. For the rest of us, we just listen and absorb. It’s easier than independent thought.
I’m not saying that blog should not be opinionated, or, to put it another way, bias. Humans are biased by nature; a nonbias human does not exist. That’s kinda why I think that news companies which advertise “unbias reporting” are pretty ironic. You want unbias reporting? Make a machine to do it. And even then, a person made the machine.
I’m sure there are some people out there who write their own blogs. I might even read your blog from time to time. I’m not telling you to stop writing what you think. Even if I did, it wouldn’t stop you. I could say, take a step back and thing about the effects of what you write. But I won’t. I mean, is it wrong to express one’s opinions? I’d say not. After all, what am I doing right now? I don’t really care what you think or do in response. Do whatever, really. (Please don’t burn me?)
Maybe problem isn’t the best word. Is it really a problem? Maybe this is simply a trait that makes us human: the ability to integrate outside opinions into our own. But never before has so many different opinions been available to a person. With the advent of the Internet, one can connect to so many more people, read so many more things. Is there a limit?
I don’t know. I really don’t. All I can say is, human nature is pretty flawed. Or maybe it was just fit for another time.
…
It seems like I’m giving blogs and the Internet some pretty bad rep right now. I’ll write something of the other opinion soon. Hopefully. Though it seems I’m very bad at posting these days.
A First (belated) Anniversary
*Opens Notepad because the input window for WordPress is too small*
*then switches to Word because Notepad fails as well*
…then I noticed the small drag thinger in the corner of the input window. WOW I feel stupid. *moves back to WordPress*
Anyway. So, you might be wondering what this “1st anniversary” crap is. Well, approximately a year ago, I (would like to say I*) started (really) watching anime and reading manga. It seems like such a long time ago when I was sitting watching Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann with my brother (start it with a BANG, right?).
I started reading manga like a crazy person, staying up until the wee hours of the morning so I could finish chapters.
I started keeping track of what I read and watched on myanimelist.net.
I watched the epics like Haruhi, Lucky Star and everything by Key (notice the KyoAni fanboy-ness going on here).
I made a pilgrimage to Mecca visited Japan and went to Akiba, spending an obscene amount of money. (Actually my brother spent more, but it was a lot to me D:)
I made a blog after my friends got sick of me posting random blurbs about anime on Facebook. (But this blog is still synced to my Notes on Facebook…)
*The thing is, is that it’s not like I hadn’t seen anime and manga before this event. It’s just that this event sparked a forest fire of otaku-ness.
…
So I guess it’s a good time to stop a reflect. After all, it’s New Years and my 1st psuedo-anniversary as an otaku. (and I’m following the general trend of anime bloggers posting very retrospective posts)
Though I sometimes feel that a lot of time has passed, I don’t feel like I’ve matured at all. Not as a person, or as an otaku. This may be because there seem to be so many better, more intelligent and more insightful people out there, but it still hasn’t come yet. Actually, it probably is because of all these insightful posts I’ve been reading lately. Stuff like this, this and this really make a person think. Or for me, make him feel really shallow. No offense meant to the authors at all, as I guess I did have a pretty fragile ego to begin with (first post much?).
Well, if you’re expecting anything long or insightful, I won’t provide it. To tell you the truth, (whenever I say that phrase, I think of A Catcher in the Rye. I wonder why…) I never really liked reflecting on things. Never liked looking at the big picture, never liked looking to the future. I can give myself goals, but writing down a goal is, for me, almost like saying I’ll never do it. On an Evangelion scale, I’d say I rate about episode 1 Shinji: afraid of the future, afraid of responsibility, and so on and so forth.
But, to end on an optimistic note, I guess this just means I have a lot to learn. A lot of space to grow, and a lot of maturing to do. I am sorta already regretting making an anime blog: I don’t know if I’m really up to the task. I just write on the spur of the moment, a sporatic and irratic person who just goes into teenage angst.
But, is there a true “prerequisite” to blogging at all? Is there anything needed besides a wanting to be heard? (if you looked at my blog, you’d get the impression of “no, there isn’t”.)
…It seems like I’m talking to myself now. I guess I’ll stop. I might continue this some other time, if I feel up to the task of prying myself open some more.
Note: I think I overused the parentheses, didn’t I. Maybe I just have a lot to say, but I don’t think half of it is important.
Note: I probably conveyed a message of self-doubt and teenage angst-y sorta stuff. But no, I’m not asking for comforting.
EDIT1: The refusal to proofread may have to do with the refusal to look at myself in a figurative mirror of sorts.
EDIT2: A summary – Basically, I’ve got a lot to improve on. Go figure, it’s my 4th real post on a 3-day old blog. Not much to look back on.
Without a doubt, the decline in human interaction.
Maybe not. I’m not really sure what to think.
First, read this: http://omaemo.dasaku.net/2008/12/26/2008-in-review-christmas-e-nnui/
Afterward, read this: http://memories-of-eternity.com/otaku/the-internet-and-communication-socializing-from-the-comfort-of-a-laptop/
If you’re too lazy to read them (because they are pretty damn long), I’ll summarize the very basics:
For one, both of the authors are anime bloggers, and I doubt any of you read anime blogs anyway, so I guess it’s not relevant. Whatever.
Both basically talk about the effects of the internet on human interactions in real life.
The first contends that the internet is ruining the users’ ability to communicate to fellow people in the real world.
A line which summarizes his thoughts is below:
“The problem with our fandom-linked internet existences is that it has the knack of dehumanising communication to an effortless point where someone exists in your context not so much because you care about him or her as a person, but because he or she shares something in common with you.”
The second agrees with many points the first brings up, but doesn’t necessarily see the internet as something degrading human interaction. Instead, it takes a more optimistic tone by saying that the internet may not be hindering us, but actually expanding our horizons or allowing us to come into contact with people we would normally never meet, as behind the username is, in fact, a human being.
Now, what do I think of all of this?
First of all, I find the subject in general very interesting, partly because I probably am a victim of this loss of human interaction. I remember going to a summer camp at Boston, and thinking, “I wonder if anybody here watches anime… If they do, we definitely should meet up.” In the end, most of the friends I had were fellow anime watchers, though probably not as extreme as I in their otaku-ness.
I can see now that I was using the criterion “anime watching” to find friends, rather then simply opening up, making friends, then asking if they watched anime or not.
But, I agree with both articles. While the internet has made it so our interests are a sort of criteria for making friends, it also has helped us come into contact with new and exciting people, expanding our horizons and-
Ok, let’s just stop now.
I just realized that I am getting flipping nowhere in what I’m saying.
Let’s have some original and insightful thoughts, shall we?
I’ve always thought of the internet as a sort of mask. While there is a human being behind the username, the user uses his username as a mask, and may act differently than he would in real life. Just look at any MMO: half the people you meet are complete dicks. Now, I really do hope that half the people I meet in real life aren’t complete dicks.
Also, people act according to the image they want to portray: somebody who wants to seem formal and proper may always speak in proper language, while somebody who really doesn’t care would just degrade to chat language.
Then again, if you think about it, it really isn’t much different from real life then: people hide behind masks in real life, to further their own goals.
I know that, for one thing, on the internet, people feel like they are given a new chance, to start over and portray a different image than they do in real life.
Somebody may actually be a NEET stuck in his parents’ basement, but online he may be the “top dog” or the leader of a whole community. It really sheds new light on the many-faced personalities of human beings, and the effects of the internet on the growth of such personalities.
We have to ask ourselves the question: Is the internet really all that different from real life?
Of course, I mean in terms of human interactions, rather than simple appearance.
I remember reading this manga a while ago called “Mel Kano.” The premise is that a man meets his significant other on a futuristic online dating site of sorts. (This situation seems to be becoming more and more common these days, with many online dating sites advertising that they can find the loved one for anybody.) While the get very well together online, in the real world the couple often querral and argue with each other.
I just remember one line that is said by one of the characters: (see here for the original page)
“In the world of the internet, we’re not bound by society, and we can freely express ourselves… That’s why I believe that the words online reflect the person’s inner heart.”
The idea is that, instead of a mask that hides us, the internet frees us. A bit different from what I was saying before.
And, it seems that many other manga deal with the internet and people. I don’t remember many off the top of my head, but I’m sure they exist.
Okay, I think I really went on some weird tangent and got nowhere. Ah well, just tell me what you think!
