PressEthic

It seems that more and more these days, blogs are becoming hot topic in the news. It's not just that every news website has their own or many blogs to facilitate discussion on what they print, but by now we have seen blogs getting people into trouble, making them millions of dollars, and now even providing people with therapy.

The Washington Post published a front page article on October 12, which suggested that people are no longer using blogs just to comment on political and national events, but are using this form of internet catharsis as a way to mentally heal after the death of a loved one or during a painful struggle with cancer or alcoholism. People are virtually confessing their problems in front of millions of people and this audience of millions can write back and help.

Some psychologists have turned up their noses to blogging, but others have welcomed it with open arms, with one hospital in North Carolina even including its patient's blogs on its website.

There are other types of blogging that have leaned towards the not so serious, the site livejournal being one of them. I still don't really understand the draw of sharing your personal feelings with everybody. I've always supported journal writing, but when that journal is read by millions of people, I no longer would be interested. For medicial reasons, i think it great. It helps the patient know that their are others out there, not only reading about their qualms but writing back helping and agreeing with what they are saying. With blogging permeating several parts of society now, privacy is certainly something that is not valued as highly as it used to be. While to be private or not to be private with one's thoughts is one's own choice, i think the doors that blogging has opened for most people have been for the better and can definitly see it making an even larger impact on society in the upcoming years.