On Blogging and the Epidemic of Loneliness
Me with Anna Fader, founder of Mommy Poppins, a dear friend I met via blogging
I started blogging in 2004, before “influencer” was a career, before social media, before most people knew what a blog even was.
Today, sharing your life on the Internet is second nature. But back then, the idea of sharing the personal details of your life on the Internet was...weird. Who would do such a thing? Getting to know people through their blogs? Even weirder. But that's what happened back then, and it was magic.
In 2004, I was the struggling parent of two young kids. I didn't see my struggle reflected in the parenting books or magazines in the stories of my friends. My own parents sympathized but didn't know how to advise me. My husband was loving and supportive, but couldn't fully understand.
I was profoundly lonely. Who saved me? The people who read and wrote blogs.
People I'd never met, from all over the US (and a few outside the US), took the time to read my blog and leave comments. They told stories about their own lives, shared bits of advice, offered validation.
As I left comments on other peoples' blogs, the same thing happened. We helped each other through our challenges and began conversations that, in some cases, lasted for years. But to this day, many of my closest friends I met through blogging.
Today, people communicate via social media friends all the time -- many of whom they know offline as well -- and yet loneliness is an epidemic.
I'm convinced that there's something special about conversations and connections blogging inspires. One blog post probably won't change the world. But many blog posts, written by many people, over time, just might.
