To Blog or Not To Blog, That is the Question

This morning, Gregg alerted me to this article on the impact of blogging (and YouTube and podcasts) on divorces. State courts have handed down decisions on whether an ex-husband or ex-wife is allowed to blog about the details of their failed marriages. The courts have upheld the bloggers’ rights of freedom of speech. However, the issues are not merely legal; they are ethical and psychological as well.

On one hand, blogging can be cathartic for people. This is especially true for people who are going through a divorce. Thus, it has psychological ramifications. At the same time, blogging is a rather public form of therapy. While it may help the blogger, it could – and often does – hurt the other party. Second, as this article mentions, reading details about their parents’ marriages may hurt the children of these divorces. But, again, divorce is rarely clean, easy and simple and therefore, these blogs are probably not the worst things that children of divorced parents have to endure.

But this got me thinking. What should we blog about? What is off limits? The article mentions that 1 in 10 Americans have a personal blog. On one hand, I believe that anything that gets people to write and read is a good thing. I also like the fact that I can keep in touch with people through the blog as well as know what they have been doing. Blogs are not just news (we could get that through emails or phone calls); they are thoughts, actions and everyday life shared with others. That is what makes them fascinating.

On the other hand, are we too open? Are our lives becoming too public? What thoughts, actions, events and details should we share and what should we not? Do we feel that we are writing for ourselves and our friends while forgetting that a blog remains a public forum?

What do you think? What are the lines? What is off limits for a blog?