As I said in my 100th post, I started blogging out of some vague notion that blogging would be an enjoyable hobby for me. There wasn't much rhyme or reason behind it; I just figured, hey, why not give this blogging thing a try? Little did I know how much of a time sink it would be, but like any good hobby, it's a time sink that I enjoy. Of course, when I am writing my lengthy posts when I could be doing something else productive or relating to the real world*, I sometimes find myself asking, why do I blog?
Blogging is a hobby for me, so it certainly falls under the category of "Something to do." It passes the time, and it's an excuse for me to write, something that I enjoy more than reading. I don't know why, but I've never been able to get in the habit of reading books for pleasure. Maybe I just never read the right books, but writing always kept my attention more easily than reading. Blogging also helps me feel like I am active in the WoW community, even when I don't play that much (I currently spend more time blogging about WoW than I spend playing WoW), so that factors into it, as well.
I suppose the urge to blog really comes from my desire to give my life meaning, ironically enough (if you consider my last miscellany post, in which I pondered the meaning of life). Those that are philosophically inclined are often not satisfied to be mere consumers of media. Being a receiver without giving anything to the world can generate the feeling that one's existence is largely inconsequential. Luckily, there are a multitude of ways to combat that feeling. One can do nice things for people, one can work a job in which one actually makes a difference in the world, or one can use art and exercise one's creative muscles. It was the latter idea that appealed to me the most, for I was already a consumer within the WoW blogosphere. I spent a lot of time reading WoW blogs (well, two of them, to be truthful), so for me to become a producer in that universe seemed a natural transition. I suppose the real reason I blog is that it helps me feel like a producer, like someone who is actually adding something to the world, someone who is having an impact. By blogging, I make my existence consequential, and that gives it meaning.
*For example, I currently have open, in a separate window, a soon-to-be fifteen-page paper examining Camus' The Stranger and relating it to the works of other philosophers. I'm not procrastinating, by any means; the paper is due in a month, and I already have twelve pages of it written.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Even if you work in a job in which you actually make a (small) difference in the world, blogging often ends up being more satisfactory. Not because you believe that your posts make a difference, but because a blog post is more likely to give you feedback than a task you perform in your job.
ReplyDeleteThat is probably a flaw in the design of job recognition.
I think that's a universal draw among hobbies: if it's something like blogging or playing an MMO, the feedback is instant or near instant. If its something more traditional like stamp collecting or gardening, one can still see that fruits of one's labor easily. Many jobs lack that element. In fact, I'd imagine that jobs where one makes a difference in the world are even worse, because you are faced with all of the people you CAN'T help, in addition to the ones you can.
ReplyDelete