Genuinely, can't a guy do stuff for fun?
Well, one thing's for sure is that I often wonder what should I put in a digital journal. Most of my life is pretty stagnant; with, of course, minor excitements here and there (I'm not sure if you even want to hear all of my thirsting towards Nightwing from DC Comics.). I don't even think I'm qualified enough to talk about things I'd want to talk—it's a bunch of personal opinions here and there and my professional work is way too sensitive to get things wrong about.
What a guy should do, of course, is to look up ideas in how to fill up a blog.
It kind of hits me how much the internet as a landscape has changed. As someone who's been doing internet stuff for a hobby for decades now, it's gotten increasingly commercialised, even things that should be just for fun. And this—blogging, is no exception. Every guide about what should I write focuses on "finding your niche" or "sensationalising your personal anecdotes"; mostly talking about search engine optimising, and how to... make money in writing down your life.
This hits hard for me, someone who'd known other people who'd written down their life in a blog, just talking about their thoughts and their life. Do I really need to just try writing in other social media that isn't a blog? It feels like I'd have a reasonable justification in writing a blog. If I don't fit in a niche and attract wide audiences, then all I'm doing is just wasting my time. Genuinely, can't a guy do stuff for fun?
I mean, that's the nature of current internet, isn't it? Why can't we do stuff just for fun, just for the sake of it. Is my time that limited, that everything I do needs to have justification, or else I'm just wasting it?
Oops, I guess that's a whole different discussion.
A couple of days ago, someone in my community volunteering program asked me about my hobbies. I told them that I liked writing, I liked talking about stuff voluntarily. They asked me what platform I wrote on. "Why don't you try (insert platform name)? You can make money doing it." And I could. I know I have the skills to do so, and I've been paid to write before, but I don't think that's where I find joy. I don't understand why do I have to make money for my time to be worthwhile. I find joy in talking, in expressing myself, and I don't care if it's got no audience.
Rationally, I know why this happened. I know why everything seemed to be fully monetised—that's the nature of capitalism, isn't it? Constant growth?
Still. I think it's stupid that we can't do something just for fun nowadays.
Cheers,
K.