HW 9: A Weblog Saved My Life

When reading "A Weblog Saved My Life Last Night", I was a little shocked at the title; I never thought that a Weblog could save someone's life. Ayelet Waldman explains how when she wrote a suicide note on her blog, it ultimately saved her life. People responded and reached out to her, letting her know that she had a serious problem and was not thinking clearly. Although I think that it is great that the people on Ayelet's weblog helped her out, I think that she overlooks all the blogs that are made for depressed suicidal people. Normally suicidal people talking to other depressed people does not work out well. So even though it is a nice story of how blogging helped her out, I would not encourage others to go online and chat about how they are going to kill themselves. I do agree with the statement that Waldman makes when she says, "the blogosphere has given these people a sense of community". I believe that people often blog for that exact reason, wanting to feel as if they are a part of something bigger, like a community. So I have mixed feelings about blogging online as a daily routine, especially expressing your inner feelings, although it could end up saving your life, it also could be very dangerous. There are many predators online that will influence your thoughts for the worst. My solution to this would be to make sure you are entering a blogging community that is known to be safe and helpful.