Okaaaaaay. I’m really not sure what I’m doing anymore, tbh. 😅 I just signed up and got a new blog over on LiveJournal last week. Then I found myself getting an account here on Dreamwidth this week. And already I think I prefer Dreamwidth more. Hrrrm. Good thing I haven’t posted much on LJ.
So yeah. Anyways. Haha! I’ll use both blogs throughout this year and see which one I find myself gravitating toward the most. And that one will be my main one, I guess? I already feel like this one will be my main one. Mostly because I like Dreamwidth’s policies and high support of free expression and such. Censorship is one thing I’m trying to get away from right now as far as social media goes. Which is why I’m distancing myself from social media as much as possible right now. There are other reasons why I no longer care to be on social media, but this is at the top of the list.
I also like Dreamwidth more already because it looks and feels more active and up-to-date when I do searches for fellow bloggers and communities. Hoping to meet some new friends on here in the future!
To be honest. I didn't know Dreamwidth was even still going. A friend of mine told me it was still around, so I looked it up. I remember this place from waaaaaaay back a long time ago! Yikes! 😬 Glad to see it's stood the test of time and is still going strong!
Below is the first post I uploaded on my LiveJournal the other day, explaining my recent decision to get back into blogging in 2023. Cross-posted it to here:
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Gracious. It’s been SO long since I last did any blogging. I feel a bit rusty! 😅 Since I'm starting out with a new account, I do feel like I need to do a proper introduction for those who don't personally know me. But I'll do that at a later time through future posts. Right now, I'm just trying to get this new blog started so I can feel like I'm headed in some kind of direction with it.
I’ve been doing a lot of changes in my life since the new year started. In my ongoing effort to distance myself from the cesspool of social media, I feel like I’ve come full circle. I started out blogging and I’ve come back to blogging. Let’s face it. There’s just something about having a blog that’s ten times better than social media. It’s like I was telling my cousins. Blogs feel like that little quiet, quaint, out-of-the-way coffee shop and bookstore while social media is Walmart. Social media is okay in short, quick trips, but you hang out at the coffee shop because it’s quiet and easygoing and has books to read.
I guess it’s mostly because I’m a writer and an introvert. I like putting thought and substance into what I write and post. I like thinking hard about random things and posting it in one long post on a blog more so than social media. Social media, to me, feels like small talk. Blogs feel like you’re writing a short story or an entry in a real diary or journal. A blog forces you to think about what you write ahead of time and forces you to be creative with it instead of just quickly posting snippets of what you’re doing at that moment like you're documenting every aspect of your life, including the boring parts no one cares about.
Lately, I’ve felt burned out on social media in general, with the exception of Instagram. (Instagram is the unique one out of the group that’s good for creating art and photo galleries.) And my reasons vary and make a full list. In short, I feel like social media as a whole has deviated away from what it was originally intended to be: another type of blog. It’s something that started off good in the beginning when it was still new to all of us but mobile devices and such have made it too mainstream and too ‘loud’, so to speak. On top of this, it’s become an unhealthy addiction with so many people. They’ve got to constantly see what everyone’s doing and saying and posting. They’ve got to constantly be in on the gossip and news, even if it’s none of their business. Politics, news, drama, gossip, advertisements. This is basically what social media has grown into in recent years. In the process, it’s become anti-social. Because no one really cares about carrying on a decent conversation with others anymore. It’s quicker to just hit the ‘like’ button and move on. Or if you do manage to strike up a conversation with someone, it always results in them getting offended by something you say. So everyone has pretty much grown silent and sticks to their own little corner of Facebook or Twitter or whatever platform it is.
Don't get me wrong. Social media still has its good qualities, too, underneath. Being able to connect with friends and family you wouldn't otherwise be connected to on one platform is probably the only good quality social media has left. Because nowadays it's difficult to keep in touch with some people (family members especially) outside of social media since no one wants to e-mail anymore, or has time to. Someplace like Facebook does make keeping in touch a lot easier and quicker, especially when most of your family is spread out all over the country or outside of the country.
But, I'm tired of social media. I've quickly become part of the crowd who's decided I no longer need it dominating my life. I need a break. So that's why I'm back on LiveJournal, starting out fresh with a new account. I need a place to empty my thoughts that's away from the hussle and bussle of social media. I feel like I'm a different person now than I was. I've grown. I've matured. I've experienced a lot of things in life since I last had a blog. I'm excited to see where this all leads this year. Hoping I can keep it up and going better than I used to. I've always loved blogging, but I've also always been bad at keeping a blog active. I always tend to get busy with other things and forget about it. Ulp. 😣 Maybe that won't happen this time.
So, anyway. Here's to a new year of blogging! 🥳
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