Students blog on Tumblr as a medium of self-expression

What would happen if someone combined Twitter with Formspring, WordPress with Facebook and current events with a diary? David Karp and Marco Arment accomplished just that by creating Tumblr, a blogging network. Users can write about anything on their mind, “re-blog” something from another user’s page, “like” each other’s posts and customize their pages.

As bustling news organizations and magazines like The New York Times, The Atlantic and Newsweek created their Tumblr accounts, they thrust Tumblr into the limelight.

“Tumblr used to be a hipster thing, but I don’t think it is anymore, now that a lot more people are jumping onto the bandwagon,” Tumblr user sophomore Sanjana Ramachandran said.

Amidst the hype, the MVHS Tumblr community is growing at a rapid rate, with 43% of students creating accounts within the last two months according to a recent student survey. Tumblr’s influx of student users can be narrowed down to peer pressure, Facebook’s lack of personalization and a growing need for students to express themselves.

“Tumblr is a place where I can rant about my day and then post music and pictures,” Ramachandran said. “It goes further than that tiny box on Facebook.”

The social pressure exerted by members of Tumblr is a major factor in the recent growth of the amount of users. Tumblr is a trend just like any other trend; it is fed by peer pressure.  

“I made seven people join Tumblr,” junior Philip Tsai said. “I like it when other people join. I get a different perspective of a person.”

But not all have caught Tumblr-fever.

“A lot of people have been asking me to join Tumblr” junior Clarissa Wells said. “[But] I do not need another thing to distract me. I already have a Facebook.”

For others though, peer pressure is not what compels them to start their own Tumblr. Experiencing another person’s day, seeing what they like or hearing what they listen to often makes students feel obligated to share something as well.

“[It was a] combination of friends doing it and me reading their Tumblrs that made me want to join,” junior Ben Yang said. “I felt like I wanted to contribute rather than it just being one-way.”

One might think that being able to read someone else’s most intimate and personal thoughts would alter relationships, but that does not seem to be the case.

“Tumblr has not changed my life. It has not changed any of my friendships,” Ramachandran said.

On his Tumblr, Tsai often recaps an interesting day with friends, posts pictures of things he wants or videos and photos he thinks are funny and amusing. To Tsai and his friends, Tumblr has created closeness within a completely public space.

“[My friends] feel like they are getting attention,” Tsai said. “They feel loved when I write about them.”

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