Writing, the internet, and insanity...
I think most people know that writers can be a little batty sometimes. It's cliche, but it's more often true than not. Why? Maybe because writing is so accessible as an art form that anyone can do it, so it attracts everyone. Who out there hasn't written at least one poem or paragraph about their angst?
The problem is when writing is made available for public consumption but the writer, for whatever reason, hasn't prepared for the public reaction. Deep down inside we all want to be loved and we want everything we do to be loved. You know it's true. I know that's what I want. But I also know that's unrealistic because there's things in the world that I don't love. Some things I downright hate.
So how can I expect everyone to love everything I do? I can't. No one should.
And then you have the internet -- the perfect boiling pot of anonymity, insecurity, and borderline insanity. Where people go to say things they'd never dream of saying to someone's face. Where they seek out assurance from strangers as if people who don't know them have more important opinions than the ones who do.
And if it's an opinion about their work then it's not personal, should never be made personal by anyone, and should be disregarded because the internet can be a strange and dangerous place.
It's similar to when a person yells obscenities while driving. This same person would likely never say these things to that other person if they were face to face, but if that other person cuts them off in traffic?--then fair game.
My point? Be careful out there because people can be strange but they're also wonderful. You never know who you're going to meet either on the internet or in real life.
But I can promise you that I'll never stalk anyone to their home or flip out on the internet.
I go crazy in the privacy of my home like all well-behaved writers should. :o)
The problem is when writing is made available for public consumption but the writer, for whatever reason, hasn't prepared for the public reaction. Deep down inside we all want to be loved and we want everything we do to be loved. You know it's true. I know that's what I want. But I also know that's unrealistic because there's things in the world that I don't love. Some things I downright hate.
So how can I expect everyone to love everything I do? I can't. No one should.
And then you have the internet -- the perfect boiling pot of anonymity, insecurity, and borderline insanity. Where people go to say things they'd never dream of saying to someone's face. Where they seek out assurance from strangers as if people who don't know them have more important opinions than the ones who do.
And if it's an opinion about their work then it's not personal, should never be made personal by anyone, and should be disregarded because the internet can be a strange and dangerous place.
It's similar to when a person yells obscenities while driving. This same person would likely never say these things to that other person if they were face to face, but if that other person cuts them off in traffic?--then fair game.
My point? Be careful out there because people can be strange but they're also wonderful. You never know who you're going to meet either on the internet or in real life.
But I can promise you that I'll never stalk anyone to their home or flip out on the internet.
I go crazy in the privacy of my home like all well-behaved writers should. :o)
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@PJ: Oh, thanks for the links; all quite interesting.
Great articles! Thanks for sharing.
It's not entirely analogous, of course. As you note, anonymity of the web fuels trollish behavior, but has some necessity too, e.g. safeguarding whistleblowers or those seeking protection from repressive regimes. I'm still not sure what the best approach to take is as a whole. But perhaps a rethink is in order every time technology or culture changes.
On a more mundane level, a lot of outrage on social media seems to be rather tribal, where the tribes are based on particular viewpoints. They often come across as school lunchroom cliques gone extremely bad. To look at them as an outsider makes them appear as rather gossipy and tiresome at best, and provoke concerns about the state of mental healthcare at worst. But speaking for myself, if I see anyone - writers or reviewers or those who are both - spending a lot of electronic ink on how awful someone else is, I tend to click off to find something/someone else to read. I know they're passionate about it, especially if they feel like professional integrity or their livelihood is at stake, but it's like visiting a friend during a family argument. If no one's in danger of death or ruin, one wants to slip off until they're done.
Here are some of the articles I've read in the last day or two that have prompted a shifting of my mental camera lens about this into a different angle than I'd had before:
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2014...
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-pow...
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n06/mary-bea...
But all in all, you summarize it best here: "Be careful out there because people can be strange but they're also wonderful. You never know who you're going to meet either on the internet or in real life."