“irony” is such a popular word these days, used so often that it’s lost all meaning. For me it has, anyway. Now I hesitate to use it ever because I’m most likely using it wrong.
Recently I started this particular Tumblr page for a “30 Days of Drawing” challenge, but as I learned the ins and outs of how to work this thing, I’ve noticed that it might not be my cup of tea. In essence, this is a “complaining about Tumblr” post. On Tumblr. I want to say I realize the irony of it, but again, I’m not sure if I’m using that word correctly.
Tumblr doesn’t do anything better than traditional blogs, except for, apparently, the exception of “reblogging’ a “LOL SO FUNNY” pic or animated “gif grid” that (and I’m still not sure why) seem to be prolific on Tumblr, and very few other places.
The problem I have with it, is that “reblogging” is all Tumblr seems to excel at. It encourages unoriginal posts. I try to not be friends with people whose personalities are so uninteresting, that 100% of everything they show me is either something they like or something someone else did for them. It doesn’t tell me anything about who they really are or what they’re capable of. It’s just as annoying to see on the internet as it is in real life (again, I almost want to use the word “irony” about unoriginality and the internet, but, well…)
I suppose my problem isn’t so much with Tumblr as it is with folks who have one just to reblog a reblog of a monkey riding a bicycle. And perhaps my problem is just that I’m getting tired of the internet and its collectively dwindling attention span.
That by no means is a jab at any one person, it just means that the web makes it too easy to find information, that we inevitably look for more. So we find that we don’t have enough time for ALL the information, so we instead find a way to “streamline” it. And in turn, rather than one multi-faceted quality idea, we settle for millions of little bits whose collective whole adds up to a mere “LOL”
I don’t hold myself to a standard that’s any higher than the rest of the world’s. I just wish more of us wanted to see what we’re each capable of, rather than just show each other what someone else did all the time.
I know where you’re coming from bro.
I only reblog something up if it genuinely grabs my attention or it’s someone’s work that needs to be circulated.
I only ever post if I have something interesting to say as well, or if I’m using it for it’s true purpose. That of a production blog.
I’m not going to demonise any specific group as we’re all guilty of this behaviour, just to varying extents. But I am getting quite tired of it.
