On Tumblr.
[Taken from Tumblr]
I find myself saving some pictures I end up reblogging on Tumblr, and this happens to be one of them. This not only is a perhaps, a good piece of advice in itself, but also reminds me why I have remained loyal to Tumblr for so long.
Scrolling through Tumblr for hours has been a pastime of mine for about 3 and a half, almost 4 years now. Tumblr, a medium of expression, has lately been only used by individuals who merely get a Tumblr, to "have one." But to most of us who were the original Tumblr fiends, it means so much more.
Sounds pretty silly, right? A social media website that means "so much" to some people. What Tumblr really began as, was, for me- at least, an outlet. An outlet where I was able to express my thoughts, post pretty pictures, and do silly "Letter challenges," etc. I remember getting a Tumblr around May of 2010- [it may have possibly been June, but let's say May]. My reasoning then, being a vulnerable and an immature 15 year old spirit, was as follows: I recently had ended a "long relationship", and was so emotionally "crushed" at the time, so what was my solution? .... How about I get a Tumblr?!
I felt drawn to the concept of being able to have your own website, post your own photos, but more so, share and talk to the other members of tumblr out there.
It was a world in itself, a universe to it's own.
It was an escape for me. Something that allowed me to block out stress of my current "situation." But regardless of how I felt at the time, I still find it just as mesmerizing almost four years later. It allows for the creative process of thinking and relating to simultaneously connect with photos, words, and objects reblogged on a screen. It's rather soothing- almost a type of therapy to many of it's users.
But just as in the "real" world, there was, and still is, drama. Tumblr drama.
[I cringe at the senselessness of that statement].
Any website that creates community backhandedly creates conflict. And it has created and will continue to create trouble amongst members within the Tumblr community, and with individuals on the "outside world."
For something I considered at the time to be an almost "online diary" if you will, I quickly learned that what is private matter should not necessarily be exposed in public space. And, that's how I learned to be careful with my posts. A website is only as public as you make it.
Despite my past issues with Tumblr, (as I have purposefully vaguely discussed), to me, it is an escape which inspires. I've honestly learned really insightful things through the posts and photos that I have stumbled upon in the past few years-- and it is this level of insight that not everyone is exposed to if they are using other social methods of media. People in this "Tumblr community" are from vastly different backgrounds, influences, and parts of the world. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, however, Tumblr is the reblogging and constant sharing of original thought- not just witty commentary or conversation and debate. It is a platform for worldwide collaboration.
And plus, I'll be honest here, it's really damn pretty.
But more so, it is a teacher as well. I'm a huge believer of learning through experience through relationships with people- but in our modern world, a lot of these relationships have been made isolated through online means. One no longer calls up someone, or meets up with someone- one texts them, or Skype's them. Media takes relationships into another dimension, and it is that experience (via said dimension), that is able to shape individuals- like one in "reality" would. So with the same influence, I've gained the same amount of insight and maturity through experiences I've had online as well as in life. The same human plights of conflict arise in both our world and Tumblr's "world", and although one is clearly more publicized than the other- it is this high stake of publication that further drives an individual to want to solve the problem and find a solution.
So that's essentially my love for Tumblr in a nutshell, and just a tad of my reasoning for why I love social media.
"Ignorance is the curse of God,
Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven"
[Henry VI. Part 2. 4.7]
Cheers
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