The idea of blogs or even journals as total confessional is illusory. The funny thing is - a person might be able to monitor you and your thoughts on your own desires and compare them to your actions and get an idea of how big of a self-deciever you are. I suppose this is how psychologists make a living. Its odd, but ultimately you may never be able to know yourself, or know the relationship your desires have with your actions, as well as others do.
Another funny thing - blogs as a substitute for shrinks. Sure, none of us have licences, and we'll give crappy advice, but this does share the openness and the ability for another to give advice from a position outside of your self. That's what drives this confessional instinct that bloggers and reality TV show contestants have. We confess to be corrected, to get away from our self-deception. Maybe I've been reading too much Foucault, but I really think blogging, confessing our thoughts and judging another's thoughts thru responses, could create new Norms different from those imposed on us by various institutions.
BUT power, including the power to survey, judge and establishing norms, ultimately coalesces in small groups. Our thoughts, the fodder of norms, are out here on the web, but who has the fricking time to go through them all. The future really is in information management. If there aren't "net-shrinks" lurking around livejournal and blogger.com, its only a matter of time.
I consider my journal to be a map of my consciousness and my actions, but not of my motives and desires. And that's what you'll never get thru this medium (unless it becomes heavily interactive) - any opportunity to call my bluff, to know what my motives and desires really are. More the reason to make this whole thing more interactive.
1 comment:
I'm kind of surprised that you would characterize our culture as seemingly being open about sex/relationships. Our culture is pretty good at making a spectical of sex (like it's simply a physical act involving specific manuevers easily demonstrated through popular television and film, not to mention the prosperous porn industry) but our culture fails miserably to truly appreciate sex for the good, great, terrible, fucked up thing it can be and often is. Sex isn't usually about two beautiful people humping. And relationships? If we are looking to get our cues from contemporary culture then we can only expect to be deceived. I don't think our culture has managed to really acknowledge the fact that humans are both sexual and intellectual beings.
Also, more often than not, I think people confess to be validated, not corrected. You confess so that someone can assure you that you aren't fucked up for thinking waht you think or doing what you do. People only listen to advice when it's convenient to their prior intentions. How cynical does that sound? Yikes.
Oh, and by the way... norms, shmorms. Defining normal is like defining truth or reality. Sometimes I think it's easier to just keep grasping at them straws. So there.
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