Internet Behavior

A lot of this class is focused on "putting ourselves out" onto the Internet, by creating a website, posting on a blog, and as Steve Roggenbuck talked about in class on Monday, interacting with other people through social media. Personally, I find this enriches my life, but I realize it isn't for everyone that's trying to forge a path as a writer. Some people have expressed the opinion that it seems like the goal of this "putting ourselves out" adds to the culture of attention begging, or that it dilutes the quality of what's out there, or can make our lives seem inauthentic.

Making our creative lives authentic seems like an important aspect of the MFA program here, and in all things I want to reinforce that. I don't disagree that the Internet can cheapen things, be a shortcut, be a distraction, but I also think that it's possible to interact in an edifying way online. Someone said, "If you don't like Twitter, you're not following the right people." It's something like that. Find a community that you're interested in. What are they saying? How can you contribute? We do this all the time IRL. We wouldn't be here, in this program, if we didn't.

Some people mentioned they don't know what IRL means.
It stands for "In Real Life."

But the IRL social codes have been instilled in us over the many years it takes to become an adult. Older people taught us these codes. There isn't a parallel for the Internet. And that can seem daunting. Likewise, the stimulus is different. IRL, when you hear a person talking you don't default to thinking, "This person is begging for attention." Conversely, when you're reading an article online, you don't feel any of the social engagement or anxiety or flirtatiousness or whatever you might feel when interacting IRL. You're also reading, which is work. Both of these things—the work and the lack of social stimuli—might make social media less interesting in the first place.

But there is a way to incite those feelings. My own most powerful social interactions online started when, in response to blog posts about things I was really interested in, I would post a comment that I worked hard on. Immediately after clicking submit I would start to get a little shaky. I felt like maybe I had transgressed or at least that maybe I'd said something the wrong way. I refreshed the page every ten seconds to see if anyone had responded. It's a very lively feeling, and a palpable one, and I can sense it even now.

At Smashing Magazine, a great resource for all things Internet, Rian van der Merwe has written a really important post called "Making a Better Internet." It pays attention to many of the concerns I've heard in class and in our responses online. If you are feeling a bit of agitation at what social media may require of writers, I recommend you take a look, especially to the first part half. I'd love to hear what you think. Comments are welcome below or IRL.