My initial answer to this question was no. But the more I
thought about it, the more I realized that I do want some level of
spreadability in my posts. When I tweet something funny on Twitter, I want it
to be shared or liked. I want people to engage in my posts, to respond to me,
to share whatever I posted with their friends. In some ways, these things make
us feel validated. I also write for a student publication and they make sure
that our stories are shared with others. They ask us to share our stories on a
minimum of three social media platforms to ensure that as many eyeballs are
seeing our stories, and subsequently, their website as possible. For my online
presence, I am way more aware of who is engaging with my posts and possibly
retweeting or sharing what I wrote.
However when I write in a journal, I am not at all concerned
about whether or not my posts have potential for spreadability. In fact most
times the things I write on a physical medium never see the light of day. They are
usually ways for me to simply an avenue for me to let out my innermost thoughts
and emotions. I am usually also more thoughtful when I put pen to paper. Every
word is well thought out before I put it on paper.
I believe my feelings have a lot to do with the medium
itself. For some reason, I view physical writing as more serious and important
than writing on a computer. Some of it, I believe, comes from the very idea of
spreadability. Many times on social media we try to maintain a certain presence
whether it be witty, self-deprecating, silly, or philosophical. We put on a
show for people online and hope they will retweet or share it so others too can
view us through very highly curated lenses. Social media also encourages us
spreadbility by placing retweet, share, or like buttons directly under our
content. Our ideas online are meant to be shared with everyone, even people we
may not know.
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