Yes, it might actually be that damn phone.
Journaling, Very Literally
Journals are (I think) supposed to be a place for yourself to collect your thoughts. Whatever lies heavy on your chest, whatever you can’t/don’t want to share with others, or just a random thoughts dump. I feel like it turned into us interviewing ourselves and acting like editors for content. And I came to that conclusion because I see how much journaling has become a trend in recent years, and how it’s been approached.
Actually, I think it’s a mix of social media, therapy, and journaling. Let me explain. Social media has turned a good portion of our lives into content. I would sprinkle in the rise in popularity of self-help books (as a capitalistic prompt tying together an aesthetic setting that’s presented online with hashtags like mindfulness and so on). Therapy, on the other hand, seems to have become more accessible, or is that so? The professional terminology spilled into everyday language, especially in the online sphere, as another part of mindfulness-and-authenticity-as-content.
It seems more accessible because our everyday language is marked by terminology we don’t fully understand, and yet throw around casually to keep up with the trend, and the current (social media) jargon.
We blurred the lines between different parts of our lives, and I get that in a world and time where so much is happening, we want to talk about it, join together, discuss certain things, but it’s like we developed a habit, or a tic, of immediately, for every instance, grab our phone and film everything first. We come online before we even turn to our friends, people in our lives.
Without realising it, we moved into a virtual reality, and I don’t think we’re aware of it, or if we’re aware of what that means, of us residing here. We instinctively turn to editing, censoring, and polishing ourselves to fit that reality.
Back to Journaling
I got myself a nice little notebook at the beginning of the year, because I felt like I was brimming with words I had no space to pour out on, and at night, I couldn’t fall asleep no matter how tired I was, because my mind wouldn’t shut up. So, I thought to myself, I could start journaling. Also, I am still looking for a job/trying to get my life together, so I have a good chunk of free time.
Now, I don’t know what loophole I fell into, but I am spending a lot of time on my phone, in bed, wallowing in the dissatisfaction over my current state of life. To top it all, my social media has been full of accounts giving advice on what to do instead of doom-scrolling, and how to be(come) intellectual, and all that talk. And that got me thinking.
Getting a recommendation for a good book, movie, article, or music from whichever source is great, but I’ve been seeing a lot of journal prompts. And, I mean, these are some really good prompts. Really interesting, deep questions that I would enjoy discussing with someone. And, maybe I’m taking it too literally, but is a journal the space for that?
Maybe I simply got it wrong, but I can’t not notice the atmosphere that’s created online in the way we express ourselves. What do you guys think?
Okay, thanks, bye!
My Little Hawk 