Blogging: A Great Way to Become a Healthy Criminal

Scientific American recently published an article about a new study that was conducted on the health effects of blogging. The study, conducted at Harvard University, has results that suggest that there are psychological benefits to expressive writing in blog format, “Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery.” Another study that was published in the February issue of The Oncologist reported that “cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.”

After reading this article, I reflected back on some of my own struggles in my life; at one particularly rough patch I recall feeling much better after writing my thoughts and feelings down in a journal. I think that there is something very therapeutic to be able to express all the thoughts that fill your head each day and put them into words via writing. However, it would have been helpful to me had I had received some positive feedback from others when I expressed those feelings; instead, my words just sat there and stared back at me. Nancy Morgan, the lead author of The Oncologist, states, “Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations. Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other’s expressions—the basis for forming a community.”

Once I had finished reading this article and perusing through more articles about all these added benefits of blogging I began to reach the conclusion that everyone should blog. It provides a platform for people to do what they do best: complain. Imagine not having to see anymore lengthy Facebook rants and Comment Wars in your newsfeed. If everyone had their own blog you would only see people’s opinions by choice. I know that I, for one, would benefit immensely from being spared from my weird extended family members opinionated posts filled with cringe-worthy undertones of racism and eye-roll inducing claims to being discriminated against as a white male. (Am I the only one who has to block some of their extended family members on Facebook??)

As I stated before, I was coming to the conclusion that everyone should blog specifically due to the health benefits. Then I began to wonder, are there negative health effects from blogging? Is blogging as healing as people make it out to be? Turns out, the answer is no; there are some serious side effects to blogging, most troubling being the legal side effects. I found another article from the L.A. Times that discussed the rise in blog related lawsuits.

In Pennsylvania, a judge recently ruled a community website must identify the Internet address of individuals who posted comments calling a township official a "jerk" who put money from the taxpayers in "his pocket." Since the official also was the owner of a car dealership - whose cars were called “junk” by one commenter - he also sued for defamation of his business. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, you can now be sued for calling people mean names over the internet. While websites are not liable for the comments left on blogs or the blogs themselves, under federal law they can, however, be forced to reveal the poster's identity if the post includes false information presented as fact. If you call someone an idiot or a jerk, you would most likely be safe from legal ramifications because it is stated as an opinion. But saying that someone wronged you, (i.e.“pocketed” public money) can lead to a defamation claim because it is stating it as a fact.

But the most incredulous thing is the rulings that are made against some of these bloggers. Hal Turner, a right-wing blogger from New Jersey, faces up to 10 years in prison for posting a comment that three Chicago judges "deserve to be killed" for having rejected a 2nd Amendment challenge to the city's handgun ban in 2009.

Overall, I think that while blogging is a great way to experience health benefits especially in times of distress, we always have to be conscientious about what we are posting online. The majority of people have zero clue as to the liability they face when they post anything online. Eric Goldman, who teaches internet law at Santa Clara University put it well when he said, “A whole new generation can publish now, but they don't understand the legal dangers they could face. People are shocked to learn they can be sued for posting something that says, 'My dentist stinks.' "

So, are many bloggers on the path to find better psychological health as well as unintentional criminal charges? The jury is still out on this one.

Sources:

“Blogging - It’s Good for You” Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-healthy-type/

“Bloggers Beware: Posting can Lead to Lawsuits” The L.A. Times

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/23/nation/la-na-blogger-suits-20100823