The "Whatever" Generation

Although our class discussion today was very interesting and noteworthy, it did not bring up any of the points that I thought of while reading chapters 3 and 4 of Blog Theory. I guess it is kind of my fault for not bringing them up, but it was a little hard to be heard today.

The word "Whatever" was used a lot in chapter 3, in a variety of different ways. It was defined as a word, used as a description of blogging, and analyzed as a non-communicative way of expression. Throughout all of this, I could not help but think of us as the "Whatever" generation. As Professor Dean mentioned in chapter 3, the word "whatever" is means of disrespecting someone who has made an effort to communicate with you. By responding with "whatever", the speaker is stating that they heard the communication, but is not important or valid enough to demand a thought out response. Often used in arguments, it is a primitive way of insulting someone. With this definition in mind, when I saw that the chapter was entitled "Whatever Blogging", I immediately drew my own conclusions about the content of the chapter. I thought that "Whatever Blogging" was similar to the word, communication without communicating: that is, insubstantial communication that appeals to emotion and not to the greater psyche. To me, this has been the status quo for bloggers of my generation. Although I cannot speak for all, many of the extremely popular blogs that I have read (written by my peers) have been either humor, fashion or celebrity-news oriented. The content of these blogs doesn't really scream WELL THOUGHT OUT DISCOURSE ABOUT THE FAILINGS OF HUMANITY to me. It is largely insubstantial, not contributing to the "greater good" of society, it doesn't make anyone think about anything in particular. It's just face-value entertainment. And that, to me, is what "Whatever blogging" is.