Friday, 6 September 2013



Facebook: the modern day diary.
 
In previous years the diary was seen as a private place in which diarist could express their true feelings with no judgement, however this appears to no longer be the case.  With the rise of the internet revolution the so called online diary has now become one of the most prominent genres embracing our computer screens, embedding themselves within social networking sites and blogs, resulting in an audience of thousands being able to digest a persons deepest and darkest emotions (McNeil, 2011).  However before I begin, what is a genre, and why is it important?  Genre can be considered to be texts of cultural products that are grouped accordingly due to similarities, and can be considered to be a way of expressing yourself through the use of cultural products such as style and form (Van Luyn, 2013).  Genre is important as it impacts on the way a reader may interpretate a given text or cultural product (Van Luyn).
As a Facebook user I commonly come across long winded wall post of users telling their Facebook friends the ins and outs of their day, and even more commonly the 'Facebook winge' that urges the readers of this post to offer sympathy and understanding. Many people have argued that these online posts are not in the same diary genre, however when examining this genre further it can be found that these post have many similarities to that of the traditional diary.  Some similarities include the communal function of the diary in which diarist may have shared their writing with friends and family to update them on their latest travels and adventures (McNeil, 2011).  This concept is similar to that of Facebook wall post in with users share wall post with friends.     In essence the diary has always contained a public element, and today the online writing of other appears to contain ‘enough “diaryness” to remain recognizable as a diary’ (McNeil, 2011, p.317).
Although these text may have adopted a new name such as a wall post or blog they still contain the elements that remain recognizable within the diary genre (McNeil, 2011). These texts often containing intimate details of the diarist life, and are written in first person, and placed in a chronological order, adopting a casual tone (McNeil, 2011).  Although many of these online diary keep to the traditional aspect of diary writing they to have evolved including web links and pictures (McNeil, 2011).  However does this mean that they should no longer be categorized in the Diary Genre ? It has been argued that those diarist who choose to incorporate elements of the digital age within their texts may do so without dramatically effecting the genre (McNeil, 2011).


The way in which we as a society communicate in my eyes has evolved from being more private in the past to a more open and expressive in the present. With the use of social networks such as facebook users may now express there feelings in the diary genre, expressing some of their deepest and darkest emotions.

References
McNeil, L. (2011). Diary 2:0?: A Genre Moves from Page to Screen. Language and New Media (313). New Jersey: Hampton Press Inc.

Van Luyn. A. (2013) Our Space, Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place, Lecture 6: Genre and Identity [Power Point Slides]. Retrieved from: http://learnjcu.edu.au 

Image Credit
Shut up I’m Talking. (2013). Facebook is the New Diary. Retrieved from http://shutupimtalking.com/facebook-is-the-new-diary/

1 comment:

  1. Hey Fiona, I to share the same view regarding the modern day diary. As a fellow Facebook user, I can understand how you can take the 'Facebook winge' as a cry for attention. Although some diaries were sent to families and friends to describe adventures abroad McNeill (2011), I believe most diaries were interpreted to be private and only for the owners eyes. Now that Facebook has come into power, the social community now advertises subjects that people may have found private in years before. Facebook now encourages us to use this casual language, that we used to use in our private diaries. This is why some users get frustrated at the grammar or in some people's views, lack of grammar, because we are using the diary genre.

    References
    McNeill, L (2011). Diary 2:0?: A Genre Moves From Page To Screen. Language and New Media. New Jersey: Hampton Press Inc.

    ReplyDelete