In and Out of the Digital World

My very few regular readers may have noticed that I haven't blogged lately. Like many of my "boomer" friends, I'm comfortable with, and curious about, trying out all the new forms of electronic communication. Still, I haven't become as fanatically attached to them as the younger generations are. I have a cell phone, but don't feel compelled to turn it on most of the time. I shut down my social networking page for lack of interest. I haven't "tweeted" for weeks, and haven't updated my blog for months. So it's not that I haven't tried these things, I just don't quite get the point of them.

I recently read The Dumbest Generation, by Mark Bauerlein. Aside from its rather blunt and insulting title, he makes some good points about the downside of being too "wired."
According to Bauerlein, obsessive use of social networking sites, games, and cell phones has made teens and young adults even more susceptible to peer pressure and pop culture than they've ever been in the past. In addition, on-line activities tend to replace reading anything of substance and experiencing a wider range of cultural activities.

But I guess what bothers me the most about social networking, blogs, tweets, and the like is the implied narcissism behind it all. I was raised to NOT blow my own horn or talk about myself all the time. This used to be considered rude; in the on-line world it is the norm. I am also cautious by nature and wary of revealing my personal life to strangers, so part of me finds the amount of self-revelation available for public consumption on-line, as well as the assumption that anyone cares to hear it, a little shocking.

Perhaps this is why I never seriously pursued my childhood dream of becoming a writer. Much as I like to express myself in writing, it takes a lot more courage than I have to expose my innermost thoughts and emotions to public view. And perhaps this is the real reason why I don't blog more often.

Speaking of Seniors

I was recently asked how the economic downturn is affecting the senior citizens I talk to in the course of my volunteer activities. The seniors I deal with are not the healthy, active, prosperous seniors we all hope to become. These are very vulnerable people who are already living on the edge: low income, physically or mentally impaired, and socially isolated. They do not have to worry about losing jobs and most don’t have mortgages or investments; but a cutback in a government program, a spike in the cost of food or rent, the loss of a caregiver, or a health setback could be enough to push someone barely making it over the edge. And while constant exposure to television news of “economic collapse” and impending financial disaster in the country is disturbing to some of them, others have faith that things will turn out all right.

I am constantly amazed by the resilience of the seniors I talk with, how they keep their sense of humor and somehow manage to find joy in their lives, even in the most difficult circumstances. My husband says he couldn’t do volunteer work because it would make him sad. It doesn’t work that way for me. I usually come home feeling energized, with more gratitude for the good things in my own life and for being able to briefly cheer up someone else. And while I am grateful that I’m still young enough to take steps to ensure my own financial, physical and mental health in my old age, I’m also well aware that “life happens” and that things could change in the blink of an eye. This is why I need to care about them, why we all need to care about one another.

Resolution: Blog More in 2009

I started Grasshopper’s Journey as an experiment. I’ve always loved to write. I’ve always felt that thoughts and feelings not recorded are soon forgotten or distorted in memory, and that leaves us wandering through life on auto-pilot, unaware and less human, somehow.

I’ve kept a personal journal throughout most of my life, although at various times have let months go by without writing in it. Those are usually times when I’m busy and not taking enough time to reflect on my life. I thought that a blog might encourage me to write more regularly.

But the blog has been a double-edged sword. Although my readership is small, just the idea that “someone” might read it disciplines me to write more polished pieces. This is a good thing. On the other hand, writing for an audience, even a small one, somehow restrains me from really opening up in the same way I would do in a personal journal. I hesitate to write about anything that would seem petty or boring or trite to someone else. I avoid writing about other people, for fear of offending someone. I shy away from specifics or controversial topics to preserve my anonymity. So what does that leave me to write about?

Last year I made a resolution to blog more frequently and make shorter, more diary-like entries. That didn’t happen, for the reasons noted above. But I’m going to try again, this time jotting down thoughts as they occur to me and come up with a short piece every week. More personal, more specific. Stay tuned.