Journalism is not Narcissism

I read this thing the other day. It made me very angry, and I couldn't figure out why.

Ever since I wrote about it for a class last semester, I've been intrigued by Aderrall. So I read this thing about someone talking about it, and then the anger came.

The column seemed like self-promotion under the guise of advice, using an addiction to profess to the world how much of a modern cliche the person was. A young professional pill-popper in the throws of debauchery. A trendy kind of damage. One that says "I'm such a mess right now, but give me a call?" Maybe it was so annoying because I've read so much of it. Every week we get a trio of magazines, and occasionally they're filled with people moaning about themselves like it's news. "My privileged life made me a mess! UGH!!! BUY ME!!! MAKE ME RELEVANT!!!"

Then I found this on Gawker. It all made sense.

"Left unsaid in most discussions of this sort of writing is the fact that most people's lives are not that interesting. Certainly, simple math will tell you that a 20 year-old has only a limited store of really compelling personal stories to tell. Most people who decide to base their writing careers on stories about themselves end up like bands that used their entire lifetime's worth of good material in their first album, and then sputtered uselessly when it came time for the follow-up. Sure, you can extract some thoughtful stories of humiliation from a college class. And sure, you can get some of them published. But that is not a career plan. Writing about yourself can be part of a balanced journalism diet, but it sure ain't a whole fucking meal. By plundering your own life for material, you are not investing in yourself as a writer; you're spending the principal. Soon, it will all be used up. There is nothing more painful to watch than a writer desperately grasping at ever less-important aspects of their own lives in order to make word counts, until they must simultaneously eat lunch and be writing about eating that lunch at the same time. It is the most small-minded interpretation of "journalism" there is. It is sad."

I know there's a difference between writing itself and journalism, but the point stays. One commenter, somewhere, said "It's ok to write whatever you want, [but if it's just you moaning about your life] then don't publish it."

Thanks, Gawk.