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A reflection
This is long, so if you don't have time or have a short attention span, close this now.
Otherwise, enjoy the read. I wrote this in my blog this morning, and thought that I would share it on TA. I am interested to see the response to what I wrote.
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As I lay in bed this morning, I reflected upon the whole concept of an online blog and journal. I have one other that I use which is a little more private than this one, and those are thoughts and feelings I wouldn't want to go unnoticed if I were to pass.
Physical journals and diarys are easy in the sense that if something were to happen to me, they would quickly and easily be discovered. But my online journals and blogs on the other hand - not so much. As much as I'd prefer them to stay undiscovered while I am still around, I certainly hope they don't get left in internet limbo later on.
So I thought, 'to fix this problem, would I print out every journal I'd ever written, and add it to the other physical pieces I have?' Or do I write something in one of the physical pieces and hope that someone would find that information soon enough to discover the online ones before it was too late? I am leaning towards the latter more so than the former.
As odd as this may seem to the older generations of today, (perhaps even to some of the younger ones,) the internet has become such a strong attribution to the daily lives of millions of people, it is inconcievable for some to go back to a life in which the online world no longer exists. That isn't really my point. My point is that because of this, people have molded their lives in such a way that their online activities are just as valuable as the ones away from the computer.
When a person passes on, it will be equally as important to look through all of their computer files as it is to look through and sort out their physical posessions. Not only to find blogs and saved journals, but for important dates that may have been recorded, such as meetings with colleagues or friends, or perhaps for some vital financial information. Pictures, saved messenger conversations, even just to see the bookmarks of visited sites that could reveal passions and interests that were not publicly communicated.
A personal computer can hold a plethora of detail that may go unnoticed. Will families spend the time to sit at a computer and search through everything while they are grieving? I think not. I would imagine that a lot of the time, the computer will be disposed of without much thought. And that is truly a shame. A world undiscovered (by the people who care most,) quite possibly withholding some of the greatest information they could find. Ahh but that could easily go the other way too.
So let's just say that the internet persona an individual has developed is not such a nice one. They have been using it as a tool to cheat on their wife, or they have a creepy obsession with beastiality. These things are probably best left unknown. We don't want it to be such that when a person dies, we realize that they were the biggest scum known to man kind. Certain things are hidden, and are meant to be kept hidden in order to avoid certain emotional pain to others. So how do we avoid this? I mean, it wouldn't be as if the griever is seeking out to find something terrible (hopefully,) so you certainly cannot fault them.
My solution is to keep your personal computer and everything in it reasonable enough such that you wouldn't be ostracized by your family and friends if they were to know. These days, nothing is yours and yours alone forever; unless you're a mastermind at hiding things. Otherwise, whether it be while you are still around or not, these things will be found out.
As morbid as this may seem, I am always preparing things in a manner that if I were to pass, I wouldn't be ashamed of what were to be found. I am not being dishonest by doing this, mainly because I don't have afflictions that my family would be floored by, but because the way I choose to present it is undoubtedly part of my character and who I am. So either way, whatever is to be discovered was a part of me regardless, even if some parts are missing.
Anyway, enough of my babbling. I need to get ready for work (as my alarm clock goes off.) And as a disclaimer, I am not planning to die anytime soon, so don't get any asinine ideas. Bye for now!
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fluffles?
