The Authenticity of Diaries

Society uses the word authenticity in a restrictive manner, ‘insisting identity is singular and [therefore] authentic’ (McNeill, 2012, p104). To be authentic is to be yourself according to, context and audience. Online diaries (blogs), virtual gaming worlds and social network sites all have a different context, although the audience may be the same person/ persons the participant may reveal different aspects of their authentic self according to the change of context.

In the culture of mediated voyeurism/exhibitionism that permeates the Internet, and which carries over to Internet diaries from their print culture association with reading others’ “private” (secret) writing, this subtly accessible audience design allows readers to maintain that sense of reading the “real” thing, the thrill of peeking into online lives (McNeill, 2009, p322). For the purpose of this blog, I will be focusing on virtual networking site of Facebook as a written text, a form of blogging as SIMS does not deal with written genre, merely visual language. 

Facebook can be perceived as a new genre of online public dairy writing. Interestingly, Facebook has reinstated the original purpose of diary writing as a “communal function” (McNeill, 2009, p316). For example originally ‘Travellers and immigrants, away from home…kept diaries and sent them back home to update loved one”. (McNeill, 2009, p316). Though Facebook has a different method of disseminating information to the original diary from, it still serves the purpose of recording daily or regular thoughts and experiences.  This new method of the virtual diary entry design subtly encourages users to engage with intertextuality, as “users are encouraged to include a photograph or image” (McNiell, 2012, p104) video clips, emoticons, hyperlinks and music.

“Authentic” diary features- the assumption of shared knowledge, the non-disclosing attitude- remains intact (McNeill, 2009, p322). Facebook like diaries presume knowledge, as ‘you don’t need to reintroduce each time’ (Van Luyn, 2013). The example Van Luyn used in the lecture a Facebook status; ‘New word: straggle – verb. Combination of waddling and staggering’, Van Luyn explains the context of the post presupposes the reader knows the author. “Adding another layer of amusement as the readers know the author works as an editor” (Van Luyn, 2013). Through these examples and quotes it becomes evident that to be authentic in written text, one needs to consider the context in which the text is written.  

Reference List:

 McNeil, L (2009). Language and New Media. Lingusitic, Cultural, and Technological Evolutions. In C. Rowes & E.L. Wyss (Eds), Diary 2.0? (pp.313-325)

McNeill, L. (2012). There is no "I" in network: social networking sites and posthuman auto/biography. Biographical Research Center.

McSkimming, C. (2012). Diary of Anne Frank. [Image]. 

Retrieved from: https://wikis.glowscotland.org.uk/index.php?title=0002568/The_Diary_of_Anne_Frank_Wiki/why_is_Anne_Frank_still_important_%3F

Van Luyn, A, (Lecturer). (2013 August 26). Stories and Places. Podcast retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au.