Is Blogging Good For Your Health?
April 10, 2008 by Liz Fuller
Filed under Social Media
I’d like to thank Kristen King for linking to my article Is Blogging Hazardous to Your Health on her blog InkThinker. Kristen’s article Blogging: The Digital-Era Sweatshop? included a round-up of articles writing about the NYTimes article linking blogging to heart attacks. Her post definitely got me thinking about inking.
As I was writing a comment on Kristen’s post, I realized that there was a flip side to the question of blogging and health that was completely overlooked by the NYTimes article. As opposed to damaging your health – I think there are ways that blogging can actually be good for your health.
1) Writing a blog can produce a “flow state”. The state of flow was first defined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi who describes it among other traits as a period of absorption so intense that time is distorted - it either flies by in seconds or slows down to an exquisite level of intense enjoyment. There is a strong correlation between flow states and the level of happiness in your life.
2) Blogging provides a sense of accomplishment. Whether running a business, working a corporate job or raising a family, there are many projects that just never seem to get done or don’t have clear results. Blogging is finite. You write a post; you add a picture; you hit publish. Ahh! Mission accomplished. Some days, writing a blog post is the only tangible accomplishment I can point to!
3) Blogging enables you to connect with like-minded people. Bloggers are really very social people. They love reading and responding to comments. They love emailing with their readers. They love interacting with other bloggers. Despite the stereotype of the solitary blogger working alone over their computer, most bloggers have a stimulating behind-the-scenes social life, connecting with more people who share similar interests than the average person meets in a typical workday.
4) Blogging is intellectually stimulating. Bloggers are constantly learning about new topics and ideas, inventing new ways to communicate with their readers, honing their writing skills and thinking about ways to stand out from their competitors. The way you watch TV, listen to conversations, read a book or a newspaper, all changes when you have the question continually running through your brain, “I wonder if I can blog about this…”
Those are a few of the ways that blogging is a positive force in my life.
So - how about you? In what ways is blogging good for your health?
photo credit: Randy Son of Robert
Great article, Liz! I’m going to link to this one, too. :)
Kristen
http://www.inkthinkerblog.com
http://www.bizchicksrule.com
Blogging probably is good for your health. So is exercise or working at a job you love. I think what the article was really getting at was the matter of blogging too much. One can take any good activity to extremes (like exercise or work).
Blogging is cool, but obsession with it to the point of making yourself sick or out of shape is not. If bloggers (tech bloggers in particular) are so consumed with blogging it’s hurting their health, then they really need to reexamine their priorities. It sounds like a cliche, but believe me when I say that nothing is more important than your health.
Yikes–I skimmed over the first paragraph and only now realized upon re-reading that I left my comment on the blog of the article’s author! I think you know what your own article was about. :) How silly do I feel? Very!
However, I stand firm on my thoughts regarding obsessive blogging and health.
Hi Debbie
You’re right in that too much of anything – even good things – can be detrimental. It’s good to take a balanced approach to activities – even ones we are passionate about.
Liz
Hi Kristen
Thanks again for a link! And thanks for expanding the conversation!!
Liz
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