That Journal Survey thing

[mousme]

Ganked from kimberly_a





1. Do you own a hardcopy journal as well as your livejournal?

I do have a separate journal (a little black book, in fact) in which I write periodically, although not as often as in my LiveJournal.

2. How long have you been writing in each of them? (Or just livejournal if you don't have a hardcopy journal.) What was your reason for starting a journal, and has that reason changed over time?

I grew up with the firm knowledge that girls kept diaries (Judy Blume proved this to me as well as countless other children's authors I liked), and thus had a conflicting relationship with this particular form of writing for a long time.

For a long time, for instance, I felt there was something seriously wrong with me because I never really felt the desire to keep a diary and certainly never had the staying power to keep one going after I'd started it. I would just forget about it, usually after a day or so. The longest time I wrote consecutively in a diary was about a week.

Then there was the problem of what to write: I had no interest in boys or clothes or anything else that seemed to be popular with girls of my age, and I didn't want simply to write down what went on that day. Nor did I want to write all that went through my head.

Eventually I began to take pride in not keeping a journal, because it was too "girly" and conformist, and because that way I didn't have to constantly feel like I was defective in some way.

When I started going through the really painful part of my massive depression I decided to keep a journal, but not necessarily with writing in it. I decided that I would do whatever the hell I felt like with it, whether it involved making bad art or bad poetry or rambling or simply doodling randomly. Needless to say, people will be seeing that one over my dead body. ;)

When I found out about LiveJournal (through my friend curtana I thought it would be a nifty way to keep in touch with my friends. Since then, this has developed into an almost all-consuming passion, a network of friends and a place to vent, get support, whine, bitch, moan and generally complain. It's also become a lifeline and a source of news which I find indispensable, being without a television, newspaper and other news sources generally available to the masses. :)

Wow, that was long.

3. How old are you now? (So I know when you started journaling)

24 (I started writing regularly when I turned 23)

4. What is your main reason for using livejournal and/or your hardcopy journal?

Mainly to feel a sense of connectedness with others. Otherwise I tend to feel extremely isolated.

My written journal I use to help me figure things out: what I'm feeling and why, etc.

5. Do you have any entries that are private? If so, why are they private (what do you write about? More personal things, etc?)


I've only written three or four private entries (some of them were retroactively made private). Usually I write those when I know for a fact that what I have to say is really going to hurt someone who regularly reads my LiveJournal.


6. Is there a difference in what you write in your livejournal versus your hardcopy journal if you have one?

A huge difference. My hardcopy journal is full of drawings and doodles and glued stuff that, well, I just can't add onto my online journal for obvious reasons. ;)

I also tend to ramble a lot more online. I'm a lot more concise in my hard copy journal, usually confining one entry to a single page. Online I feel like I have no limits and type whatever the hell I feel like.




7. What is your main motivation for keeping a journal online? What do you hope to achieve?

I don't have particular goals for this LiveJournal, other than remaining connected, as I said. I like getting feedback (which is perhaps why I use this journal so much more) as it gives me a lot more perspective on myself. Besides, what's the use of whining if you don't have an audience?

I don't like the feeling of navel-gazing in a vacuum that comes with keeping a completely private journal. At least this way I get to feel surrounded while at the same time retaining a vague shred of anonymity.

As a friend of mine said (miseri): I consider most of what's in this LiveJournal to be kind of like Out of Character Knowledge (non-gamers will have no idea what I'm talking about), so I still feel protected, oddly enough.

8. Do you have multiple journals for various topics, or do you include all topics you write about in one journal? (For example, there are journals of travel, journals of conscience, journals of personal memoranda, and public journals where you would write about your daily life.)

Nope. I've only ever had the two journals. Eventually, if I ever get to travel again *melodramatic pose* I'll keep a travel log. But not right now.

I do have a few journals that I have for roleplaying, but they're fictitious characters, so I don't think they count.

9. When you are making entries for your livejournal, do you have a self-conscious awareness of an audience? Does this make you write differently than you would if you didn't know you had an audience?

I'm always very conscious of having an audience, and thus I do often make efforts to keep things varied and interesting, but sometimes I find myself just posting whatever I want to out of sheer contrariness. It's a character flaw, I know. ;)


10. Do you feel that you censor a lot out of what you would really like to say in your livejournal entries because you know someone else is going to read it? It has been said that "anyone who asks about a person's diary must accept the fact more is concealed than said." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

Depends on my mood, but most of the time I excercise a lot of self-censorship. I've always been far too concerned with what other people think of me, and my behaviour in my LiveJournal is no different than my outward behaviour in this respect.

I think I spend more time deleting what I write than actually writing it. ;)

To answer the last question: yes. I've already posted enough about subtext for most of my friends to know that where I'm concerned, there's always a great deal more left unsaid than what is actually said.

11. Is the fear that your life will be forgotten if you don't write things down a part of your motivation for keeping an online and/or hardcopy journal?

Uh, no. Not even a little bit. I know that I'll be forgotten quite quickly, and that's as it should be. I'm not a mover and shaker of the universe, nor am I particularly kind or generous or artistic or noteworthy beyond my circle of friends and family. Once they're gone, I don't think I ought to be remembered by people who never knew me.

12. What is your motivation in reading other people's livejournals?

What better way to catch a glimpse into other people's minds? Find out what makes them tick, what makes them weep for sadness and joy, how they spent their day, what their inner sanctum is like.

Also, it makes me feel like I'm not quite so alone in my little bubble. :)

13. Also, where do you think the future of journaling is going? What will be the next "phase"? Do you think video journals will become popular? Any other ideas on this?

Meh. Haven't thought about this much, if at all.

I for one won't go into video journals because it takes away all the concept of editing and thinking about what you have to say. Same reason I don't use a dictaphone as a diary. I also hate the idea of putting myself up on the net for all to view.

A lot of people have webcams, though, which is kind of like a journal, so I expect it's the next logical step for people who are visually inclined.