Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Does Blogging = Addiction for Women?


I'm probably going to offend a lot of people on this one. Oh well...
I want to start with a letter I received from a woman living in Mesa, AZ a few weeks ago. See if you can identify with her. I've changed the names in the letter to protect her anonymity:

Dear Bella,

Since we began corresponding over the Reduce Blogging Support site, I've really begun to notice just how much blogging has taken over my life. My husband, Lucius, has, too. I first started blogging out of curiosity. I'd heard about it from friends at work and old roommates, and looked into it late at night, after my husband went to bed. I couldn't believe how many blogs there are out there! It seemed like almost everyone I knew was blogging. So, I started up my own just to try it.
After I got my first few comments, I was hooked. I emailed all my friends to tell them, and started blogging fairly regularly. The comments began to ebb after the first few posts, and I got depressed, so I started posting more regularly. It got to the point where I was posting at least once a day, taking pictures of any cute or attractive or hilarious thing I saw just to try and get more comments than my best friends' blogs. It worked. My blog became more and more popular, and I was finally featured on a website.
It was then that I noticed that blogging was always on my mind. When I went to bed, when I woke up, the first thing I wanted to do was check for comments. If I wasn't checking for comments I was pouring over countless other friends' blogs, and their friends, and their friends, people I didn't even know! The house became a mess and and my kids complained they weren't spending any time with me. My husband started noticing how possessive I was over the computer, and sometimes I got so mad it scared him. That was when I knew I needed to get help.
I wish I could find a way to warn more women to limit blogging before it takes over their lives as it did mine. I never knew it could be so entrapping. Even now, after going through Blogger Reduction, I still have moments where I feel if I don't blog immediately, I will go crazy. I want to scream when I post and don't get any comments. It's been one of the toughest battles of my life. That's why I'm grateful for friends and family who are supporting me through this.
Sincerely,
Nissa Bimmy

I'd love to have your comments about this. Many of you may be affected by this and not yet realize it. Feel free to share your feelings and thoughts about how blogging misuse has changed your life and what you are doing to overcome it.

3 comments:

becca said...

Jacob, are you and Kathryn fighting over the computer? This is your way of guilting her out of it? Why only addiction for women? If I went back and looked through your blog I would find most of the posts are made by you, and you are on the computer more than any person I know! Having said that, I think blogging is great. I do it while my kids are sleeping and I am sure there are times when I could be doing something more productive, but I don't think it is a bad thing.

Kristine said...

I was going to say the same thing as Becca. It's funny because the bloggers I know that really take it to that absurd level are male. Blogging is and will always be a way for me to stay connected to friends and family. It also provides an extra means for me to journal through text and pictures... nothing wrong with a little record keeping now and then.

Emily said...

Men will never understand what it's like to be a mother at home. Even stay-at-home dad's don't know because women need women. Blogging is a creative outlet, and also a way for me to stay in touch since I'm far from family and friends. BUT I do know that it can take up too much of my time. There was a talk from Elder Oaks "Good, Better, Best" that made me take a deeper look at how I'm spending my time. My sister has a good plan. She only looks at blogs or posts on her blog on Fridays.