Friday 5 December 2014

Tumblr: The Habitat of Fangirls and Fanboys

A couple of days ago, People Magazine posted a video of Benedict Cumberbatch thanking the bloggers on Tumblr for making him the most reblogged actor two years in a row. If you are one of many who have seen this video, you will notice one thing...as much as Benedict loves the support and attention of fans, he seemed very awkward...he didn't even know what to call the bloggers. That told me he knew about everything posted about him and Sherlock on Tumblr and felt VERY weirded out.

Tumblr doesn't just have offending material. It does have a few merits. Some bloggers use it for Social Activism and causes...other talented bloggers post their artwork...and some use it to warn other fans of offending behaviour.

Sadly, all of that is ruined with the blogging and subsequent reblogging of posts that are offensive to others...not just about the most popular actors and actresses...but also about our favourite characters in film and literature...

You know what I'm talking about...those Johnlock posts that would anger Arthur Conan Doyle...the shipping of Magneto and Professor X in their earlier years...those offending plot and series spoiling posts...it takes attention away from the talented and pure-of-heart bloggers who are trying to make meaningful use of this social media medium.

It's not fair for those Tumblr bloggers to be associated with the fangirls and fanboys. A lot of them aren't even part of the fandoms. They are spreading awareness of crime and turmoil in third world countries. Others are showing their support for misunderstood dissidents like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.

Some even use Tumblr to spread awareness of the problems of bullying...in all its shapes and forms. There are a plethora of posts that reveal the hidden pain and inner turmoil of bullying victims and Tumblr would be a great medium of a support network to help them.

Perhaps time on Tumblr would be better spent looking through the more meaningful blogs instead of reblogging useless rumors, spoilers and ships. The rest of the world will thank you.


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