Articles of the Month

Dear Diary...

Once again, we see that people are not afraid of being laughed at. Since the introduction of the Internet, people have been publishing their private journals online - the connotations behind "private" obviously need to be rethought. What's going on in the lives of Julie, Joanne or Gisèle?

We don't know these people. Given the time they invest in publishing their fabulous stories, they must be at a complete loss for ways to entertain themselves. Maybe they are looking for some kind of recognition from an editor or a boyfriend.

Putting your journal online may be a way to end your loneliness, as in the case of the journal writer who signs her daily entries with her e-mail address. Maybe someone will reply. Someone who wants to develop a relationship or play therapist. Whatever the case, people obviously heed the call, and there truly is a call behind those private thoughts aligned in columns on the screen. People are trying to connect with a virtual community. Even the person who posts her dog's diary is looking for a virtual companion with the same passion for animals. At least, that's my explanation for it.

Why have readers gone crazy for this new genre? Actually, let me correct myself by saying that it's not new. Journal readers like to explore the heart and soul of other people through their writing. They are like voyeurs, looking for a model to emulate or reject. They like to cry over other people's misfortunes so that they can forget their own. Basically, they read for the same reasons people like to read in general: to be entertained and to learn something. But watch out! Journal writers aren't grammarians! Through the Internet, completely anonymous people can make themselves seem as important as Jean Chrétien by having their own Web site, just like he has. Equality is alive and well and living on the Internet. Attractive or plain, rich or middle-class, educated or not, we are all fingers on a keyboard and eyes fixed on a screen.

Frankly, we don't need to ban the publication of these private journals or ridicule them. Readers have freedom of choice. In our democracy, we strongly believe that people are capable of critical thinking. Plus, private journals change with the times. There are travel journals for holidays and therapeutic journals for counselling. There is even software to help you write your private journal.