It’s hip, it’s hot, and everyone’s doing it. People talk about it often, and friends tell other friends how good theirs looks.
Sound like a fashion fad? It’s actually another trend: Web logging, or “blogging.” And in case you haven’t heard, many bloggers are teens who’ve been logging onto sites like Xanga or LiveJournal for the last few years to discuss anything and everything in a blogger’s life.
“I write about my daily activities, funny things that have happened, issues I have, or questions that have come up in my life,” says Lali S., a sophomore at Castilleja High School in Palo Alto, Calif., who has had a blog on Xanga since April 2003.
Allyson T., a sophomore at Crystal Springs High School in Hillsborough, Calif., takes blogging a step further on Xanga by putting up pictures.
“Posting pictures is kind of a way to make blogging more interactive; it’s a pretty vague but personal window into my life in a fun way,” says Allyson, who has been blogging for eight months and spends anywhere from five minutes to an hour on an entry.
Teens are drawn to blogs for two basic reasons: They’re easy and they’re free.
After starting up a blog, what a teen does with it is up to him or her. Depending on the complexity–such as adding pictures or videos–and amount of writing for an entry, a blogger can spend hours simply writing down thoughts or posting pictures.
Most blogging sites allow people to leave comments, which have resulted in networks of blogging regulars. Both Xanga and Live-Journal have “blogrings,” or communities of bloggers with similar interests.
And while bloggers give “e-props” and comments for a good entry, much of the fulfillment of blogging is a personal one.
“Before Xanga, I never really had a place to write down my thoughts or show my pictures to people,” says Beda Y., a junior at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, Calif..
For many bloggers, the sites become a place to seek help with their problems. They look for support or advice from anyone who may read that specific journal entry.
“It’s definitely therapeutic,” says Sierra L., a junior at Branham High School in San Jose. “If nothing else, it lets me write down whatever’s bothering me. And sometimes, things are easier to come to terms with and deal with if you write things out first.”
But blogs essentially are still public forums, so there can be consequences to baring your soul online. Many bloggers describe simple bumps in their lives, but others write about topics as serious as relationship problems or wanting to commit suicide.
To keep potentially hurtful stuff out of cyberspace, some schools have considered blocking blogging sites from school computers.
Still, bloggers like Sierra say they know better. Not all parts of her life automatically make it online, especially the deeply personal stuff: “If I really need to get something out, I’ll just call a friend or write it down in a real journal.”
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Graham Toben, 16, is from Portola Valley, Calif.
