Two responses: 1. Instant commenting, to my mind, resembles the instant feedback one gets in a real world face to face conversation. These may not be well thought out, but between the people conversing, the interchange of ideas is possible. This is what conversation is like, and it's one of the reasons that I like LJ. I've tried keeping a traditional-style journal, and it is too solitary to be of much use/pleasure.
2. With the way life is now, I'd say that for many people, something like LJ is part of RL. I've always had a very active inner life too, but with living abroad for many years, in a foreign language environment, I have come to find that however rich the inner life, it doesn't supply all my needs. The interactions of LJ, while they may not involve eye contact, as it were, give me the social milieu I've been missing. I've learned German, I've learned French - but one needs mother tongue interaction, shared perceptions, culture, jokes, quips, silliness... All of it. Life takes people away from one another - one grows up, one goes away, one's friends move away, one loses touch. Here, I'm most emphatically IN touch with new friends I have found. This may be a virtual space, but it's a very real one.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 07:05 pm (UTC)1. Instant commenting, to my mind, resembles the instant feedback one gets in a real world face to face conversation. These may not be well thought out, but between the people conversing, the interchange of ideas is possible. This is what conversation is like, and it's one of the reasons that I like LJ. I've tried keeping a traditional-style journal, and it is too solitary to be of much use/pleasure.
2. With the way life is now, I'd say that for many people, something like LJ is part of RL. I've always had a very active inner life too, but with living abroad for many years, in a foreign language environment, I have come to find that however rich the inner life, it doesn't supply all my needs. The interactions of LJ, while they may not involve eye contact, as it were, give me the social milieu I've been missing. I've learned German, I've learned French - but one needs mother tongue interaction, shared perceptions, culture, jokes, quips, silliness... All of it. Life takes people away from one another - one grows up, one goes away, one's friends move away, one loses touch. Here, I'm most emphatically IN touch with new friends I have found. This may be a virtual space, but it's a very real one.