"What do you do in your free time?"
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| I do not own this picture. Picture courtesy of Google Images. |
I've never liked this question, and I still don't, mainly because I feel like any of the answers I give are not sufficient enough. Sports are out of the question, primarily because I don't participate in physical
activities. I don't have a specific hobby nor do I do anything remotely spectacular. That said, semi-advanced warning: I tend to be verrrry self-deprecating. Alas, I feel as an introvert, most of my free time is invested towards fandoms, writing, reading, and... of course Tumblr.
If there ever was a tool made for Introvert's, it's David Karp's creation: Tumblr. I don't want this post to be a glorification of Tumblr as I and so many others are so apt to do, rather, I want to highlight what it does for the introvert community. Tumblr is more than just reblogging pictures because as the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," so looking at one's dashboard can say a lot about a person. Looking at my dashboard, you would notice that I am a fan of robotically-in sync Korean Boybands, SuperwhoLock, pretty pictures of exotic places, self-deprecating text posts, and the occasional bunny.
And for those who have the Tumblr mobile app can definitely make use of it's social avoidance capabilities although you may not see that in the iTunes product description. There are countless times when I'm in a social setting without anybody that I can comfortably interact with, so I resort to my hand dandy Tumblr app on my phone to casually scroll through my dashboard. Note that this has it's pros and cons, because I know I should advocate for more social interaction but when the situation calls for it, sometimes it's a good safety net to fall back on.
Another thing I like is that I have the choice of using pictures or words to express myself and in that way, I attract other people who share the same interests as I. I know several people who have "Tumblr friends". The term is pretty self-explanatory, but I find it amazing that you can make friends across the world and you can be bonded by just a common interest until you learn more about each other. (That said kids, practice internet safety because creepers and pedophiles) I wouldn't say I have any close "Tumblr friends" to speak of, but I have connected with other people through Tumblr and it's pretty darn exciting because I didn't have to do much social interaction to do it. As an introvert, it takes a lot of energy to open yourself to others but Tumblr can cut corners. I can be sitting in my bed just scrolling and make acquaintances or friends with a follow and a quick message.
And I don't know what it is, but there is something more secure about sharing your insecurities with strangers. I've noticed that since I've gotten Tumblr, there is something...almost freeing about putting everything from your "feels" to your actual feelings on Tumblr. They can be manifested in the form of text posts or just pictures. Even, I have succumbed to this at times, because even if I have put my feelings out there and there is a sense of relief that at least someone out there knows that I'm not happy. Sure they don't know me, and I don't know them, so of course they won't even give me their two cents to my plight, but the fact that they know makes all the difference. They just know and it's acknowledged. To an extent, there is an absence of judgement and I will admit to having a fear of judgment, but I also think that that's a mutual fear that most people have. We are all afraid of judgement but in a way, Tumblr, and social media as a whole eliminates that. Maybe this is more of a personal trait rather than a introvert's trait, but I don't speak my mind very often, and Tumblr allows me to do that in more ways than one.That said, who would have thought that social media would have been the platform to bring introverts closer together? You could even say it's pretty ironic...
Lots of Love
Alyssa
activities. I don't have a specific hobby nor do I do anything remotely spectacular. That said, semi-advanced warning: I tend to be verrrry self-deprecating. Alas, I feel as an introvert, most of my free time is invested towards fandoms, writing, reading, and... of course Tumblr.
If there ever was a tool made for Introvert's, it's David Karp's creation: Tumblr. I don't want this post to be a glorification of Tumblr as I and so many others are so apt to do, rather, I want to highlight what it does for the introvert community. Tumblr is more than just reblogging pictures because as the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," so looking at one's dashboard can say a lot about a person. Looking at my dashboard, you would notice that I am a fan of robotically-in sync Korean Boybands, SuperwhoLock, pretty pictures of exotic places, self-deprecating text posts, and the occasional bunny.
And for those who have the Tumblr mobile app can definitely make use of it's social avoidance capabilities although you may not see that in the iTunes product description. There are countless times when I'm in a social setting without anybody that I can comfortably interact with, so I resort to my hand dandy Tumblr app on my phone to casually scroll through my dashboard. Note that this has it's pros and cons, because I know I should advocate for more social interaction but when the situation calls for it, sometimes it's a good safety net to fall back on.
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| https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%253A%252F%252F33.media.tumblr.com%252F2e337a7e207736c71e16bd22a11751da%25 2Ftumblr_miabzrCImc1s20a47o1_500.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F* (I do not own this picture) |
And I don't know what it is, but there is something more secure about sharing your insecurities with strangers. I've noticed that since I've gotten Tumblr, there is something...almost freeing about putting everything from your "feels" to your actual feelings on Tumblr. They can be manifested in the form of text posts or just pictures. Even, I have succumbed to this at times, because even if I have put my feelings out there and there is a sense of relief that at least someone out there knows that I'm not happy. Sure they don't know me, and I don't know them, so of course they won't even give me their two cents to my plight, but the fact that they know makes all the difference. They just know and it's acknowledged. To an extent, there is an absence of judgement and I will admit to having a fear of judgment, but I also think that that's a mutual fear that most people have. We are all afraid of judgement but in a way, Tumblr, and social media as a whole eliminates that. Maybe this is more of a personal trait rather than a introvert's trait, but I don't speak my mind very often, and Tumblr allows me to do that in more ways than one.That said, who would have thought that social media would have been the platform to bring introverts closer together? You could even say it's pretty ironic...
Lots of Love
Alyssa
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