the (not so) secret world of tumblr

Once upon a time, there was a place where anyone could go and talk about literally anything: themselves, their life, celebrities, television.  A place they could say whatever they wanted because they knew nothing would happen.  That place was tumblr.

Tumblr is a secret community website where you can post text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio, or video; and once upon a time, when it was one of the least-known social media sites, you could do any of these about anyone.  Tumblr became a haven for people who were outcasts from reality - whether by choice or by chance.  A place where television romances became the prologue of fan fiction; where aspiring artists and musicians could be heard; where victims of self-harm or abuse could confess their secrets and not worry about the people in their lives judging them.

And then MTV talked about tumblr and it exploded. Now it's a breeding ground for hipsters and hypocrites.  Tumblr doesn't have any privacy anymore.  I'm no longer the only person in my school who queues during the day and updates at night.  People find blogs run by their friends and follow them, thinking that tumblr is just like Facebook or Twitter; hardly anyone understands that it began and thrived as a place of openness and privacy.  The original users - pre-MTV exposure - have had to completely change their blogs and pay attention to what they post, so as to avoid something posted being brought up by someone during the day.  Tumblr is no longer a private community where everyone cares about and understands each other; its become a world of hate messages and fake people gaining popularity by starting them.

Tumblr is like so many cultures - when they're invaded by someone else, they lose their original beauty and are forced to conform for survival.