It’s been a while since the last time I blogged. Nothing much happened since then but I can say that I’ve finally broke my Internet addiction. I think my interest in the virtual world is lessening the more I realize that it takes a lot more than talking online to change something. Sometimes it feels like online world has nothing to do with the real world, bloggers talk, and the maximum they could do is to challenge authorities, swim against the tide using only words and just be different. They might get abducted, tortured or jailed as a result but no one from outside the blogosphere hears of it, heck not even bloggers would know. So what’s the point of blogging? other than keeping online diaries and communicating with lets say tens of people or even hundreds who naturally have lives very different and detached from what they do online, I don’t know what’s the point.
What I’m trying to say is that the online world, or to be more precise, the Arab online world is strangely separated from the real world. And that could be due to a low level of technological education among Arab or maybe because bloggers, at least those like me, are not involved enough in real life changing-activities. And others, because of cultural and safety reasons prefer to be e-people only.
Sometimes I wonder if we would be more involved in our lives, our communities, our world without the Internet. Maybe we’d seek better, more effective ways to change certain realities.
Hi Shaden,
Why each blogs is a personal preference … some blog to voice their opinions, others blog to exchange ideas, others blog as a form of reaching out, all of the above perhaps and perhaps other reasons we may not even think of…
The Internet could be used as one tool to help us achieve the goal of bettering our communities, our lives …how you use it shapes the effect it has on you and your daily life…
Personally, sometimes I hate it and would love to get away from it … Sometimes I wish my job didn’t have to involve anything that has to do with computers, networks, databases, connections, etc.
At the end of the day, it is a personal choice between
a) leaving an idea, a piece of information, an insight, an interesting weblink in one’s head, lost to everyone in the world but oneself; and
b) transferring it to a blog entry for “potential” sharing with another being or multiple beings (who will potentially share it …)
Moreover, I don’t believe that it has to be either blogging or other forms of activism. One can do both.
I think the great thing about the internet is that it is a vehicle for putting you in contact with other people who are passionate about the same things you are. But I think that you are right that we are slow to put our words into actions. I’ve heard a lot of people on Jordan Planet suggest things that we could do to help the community, but I don’t know if we’ve ever followed through.
FurGaia, I agree with you, it doesn’t have to be either this or that. But I wish our online activities were more related to our realities, when we have an online campaign for example it’s only online and most of us would not talk about it in their everyday life.
Rebecca, this is the thing I love most about the Internet too. And you’re right, we suggest things and we come up with new creative ideas but more often than not we don’t follow that with actions. It’s like what we do online remains online for some reason. Maybe because of lack of human interaction??
Iman, I go through phases when I wish I don’t have Internet in my life, but that’s just me being never satisfied with anything.
So be it… I love to blog anyways!
السلام عليكم
اعتقد انك قد اطلت الغيبه عسى ان يكون ÙÙŠ الجعبه شيء جديد , كي٠ادÙع الخمس ليرات لك , اÙيدونا ولكم جزيل الشكر
والسلام ختام
personally i like the small window into jordan life i get with your blog…
Hey Shaden, I have also enjoyed the window on Jordanian life (even though I live here)you provide, I hope you will keep posting from time to time. You were one of the first JP bloggers I read regularly.
You never know who you may have influenced in this realm. In a funny way it is like prayer…sometimes you see the answer, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes the answer is yes, or no, or wait; but there is always more happening in the unseen than we can know.
hmm, you must have somehow found a way into my head. I have had these same exact thoughts recently.
I would suggest that you reduce your perception of the internet to a tool that you use to do exactly what the last phrase in your sentence says; “seek better, more effecient ways to change certain realities”. I’m sure the internet can do that, and more, but it’s that “more” that you don’t want!