Week 1: Diaries On and Offline

I have tried multiple times to keep a diary, however, nothing ever stuck more than a month. Whenever I began a new diary I was always so excited, getting a new notebook, a special pen used just to write down my deepest secrets, and finding the most cliche hiding place I could just in case my brother decided to snoop through my room. Yet every time I tried to write I found myself stuck, I never had anything significant enough to write down. As I got older I tried multiple times to journal. Each time I ran into the same problem, I was stuck. I found myself asking why I am really writing this stuff down, I have the memories, I was at the event, I already know what happened. The diary was never meant for anyone else to read, and I already knew all the information, so over the years, I found journaling to be pointless.
Online is a bit different though.  Social media has taken over our current society and now almost everyone is keeping some sort of account of their lives to show the world. Between Twitter, Instagram, blogs, and personal online diaries I suspect there are few who can say that they don't log their own life. We share our own personal opinions and thoughts on Twitter, Instagram photos capture fashion trends and proof that parties actually happened, and that food looks delicious through a Valencia filter.  Writing about myself online no longer feels like writing down my private emotions, but more of a log of my life where nothing is too small to document. Social media has a way of making everything feel important, every like is a someone out there who is paying attention and that makes a person feel validated. Social media is not just about in-depth emotions and making serious stances, just like some diaries social media can just be a log of daily life and memories that people want to share.
Writing online, especially through common social media sites, doesn't seem as personal as handwritten journal entries. Knowing that people will be reading my entries makes me put a filter on what I choose to post. Personally, I could never put myself out there so much so as to write about my private feeling online for others to see, without a filter. It takes a brave person to share their dreams with the world, an even braver person to share their struggles and traumas.  I don't believe that there is such a thing as oversharing on the internet. If someone doesn't want to read what you have to say then they can always click away, it is always up to the author in what they feel comfortable sharing. Traumatic events that might seem too much for others could be the thing that helps another through a similar situation. There is so much power in knowing that you are not alone in a situation. This peak in social media has many questioning why people would care. People have been writing in journals for hundreds of years. Historically we read diaries to gain an understanding of the everyday lives of people of a different era.  The same can be said for people today. We read public diaries to gain an understanding of people. Reading journals gives people a sense of community.
Most daily writers do write in stream of consciousness, diaries tend to be less formal than other writings. Writing a diary, at least from my own experience, is about getting thoughts down on paper, online, or any other form an author chooses to use. Diaries are about thoughts, thoughts do not come in formal sentences. Thoughts and feelings are messy and complex which is reflected in a stream of conscious style of reading. Some believe that this would make diaries hard to read however personally I find it the opposite. This style of writing reflects the messiness of life. Reading an authors thoughts in the order that they think them helps me understand exactly how the author thinks. This informal way of writing can also be more relatable to common audiences. Formal writing can be hard to read for some and therefore make it harder to connect with the content.  Because diaries are normally informal, spelling and grammar tend to be less important. Writers of handwritten diaries don't have to be concerned with this because they are for their own eyes only. Online writers can use spell check and other grammar services to check their work so most writers never need to worry about basic mistakes.
Overall online diaries can be seen in many different forms. With the expansion of social media, the daily life of millions of people is now on display. Online and handwritten both serve their purpose. Mostly it is an issue of comfort level, some are more comfortable with spreading their stories online while some prefer to keep their emotions private. Having an online space where people feel safe to explore their emotions and see others doing the same can give others confidence in their own lives.