*Gasp!* How dare she! But bare with me here, there’s more to this argument than you think (and than what I thought too). So a bit of context. Last month, I saw a tweet from a nameless person who suggested that we should reconsider the relationships with our friends and family if they don’t actively support us. Be that with our blog, our writing, our side business, our Etsy shop – whatever. That if they can’t like our work, buy our work, share our work or arse lick our work then what? We show them the door? That’s basically the gist of the tweet and unsurprisingly, it got quiteeeee a lot of reaction.
I rarely do reaction pieces but this one really ignited something in me which made me desperate to talk about it and see what everyone else thought. Some people agreed with the original tweet – which is fine, each to their own – and said that YES DAMN RIGHT OUR MATES SHOULD SUPPORT US. And on the surface, they’re right. We should all be in stable and supportive relationships with friends, family, partners, pets and know that you’re there for one another. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disputing that part of the argument.
But it’s not as straight forward as that is it?
And this is where I stand on the question, “are our friends and family obligated to support us?”
Short answer: no.
Long answer: No. I don’t think such a black and white statement can apply here. This blogger was obviously referring to blogging as the thing that our friends and family need to support (otherwise what the heck were they on about?) and I think there’s a few reasons that it’s a dangerous thought process to have.
Firstly: nobody is obligated to do anything. If you spend your life doing things because you feel like you have to do them, then you’re going to plod along and be very disappointed. Trust me, I know, I’ve been there. It took me attending an entire Yoga Retreat to work that one out.
And even within relationships of any kind, what kind of relationship is it if one or both parties just do something because they feel like they have to? We’re treading into dangerous territory here but you get my point.
Secondly: blogging is a relatively new thing for a lot of people. Despite the media and brands becoming more and more accustomed to working with bloggers and highlighting the talent of content creators, the fact of the matter is, not everyone understands it. Especially older generations who might not even use a computer at all!
Just because you have an online life, doesn’t mean everyone else does which goes for friends of the same age as you too. Not every millennial is into this big old blogging and social media thing. And it’d be silly to lump us all under the same umbrella and assume otherwise.
Thirdly: people are busy. People make it sound like others have absolutely nothing better to do than to sit there and read our blogs and share our posts. You’re mad at your mate who’s recently married and has a new born baby for not liking your latest blog post? Hun… seriously. Get a grip.
People have stuff going on. Just because they’re your friends or even your family, doesn’t mean that they should drop everything to come online and make sure they’ve liked and commented on all your content.
Fourthly: I don’t know about anyone else but I wouldn’t want support for the sake of support. I wouldn’t want fake comments and fake shares from friends who have no freaking clue what I’m doing telling people to “go and read Jenny’s online diary forum thing!” If it’s not your thing, that’s cool hun, I don’t mind. Don’t sweat it.
I don’t want people pretending to like my blog, my photos, my writing or anything just because they feel like they have to. I think that’s wrong on so many levels. Am I going to buy from a mate who’s just started working on a pyramid scheme selling weight loss tablets? Fuck no. Are they still my mate? Yep. Who’d have thunk it.
This got a bit heated but I hope you can sort of, vaguely see, where I’m coming from. I’m all for supporting other bloggers and creators that I love and I always have been and I’ve been so incredibly lucky to have met and even made friends with so many talented creators in the time I’ve been blogging.
But in my “real life”, I rarely get any support from anyone and all my support comes from those people I’ve met online, my online friends, my blog readers and those that follow me on Twitter. Do I care? Not really. My Mum and Dad ask me things occasionally. So will certain friends. But I know these are all people that aren’t into the “online” thing and probably, quite honestly, don’t know what I’m talking about anyway.
I adore what I do. I do it every single day and I never get bored but I never ever get down at the fact that I spend most of it without the support of my closest friends and family. I love it. Why should it matter? So I’ll just save my breath and talk about something we both enjoy.
Phew. I’m glad that’s over! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic? Do you expect friends or family to automatically support you and your blog? Are you okay with them not?
Absolutely agree, especially with the last part. I love the online community as an extension to my real life one and don’t need the validation of others. We all need supportive relationships in our every day lives but it’s important to think about how we, and even if we should be, benchmarking them. Geat post x
Totally agree. And just because someone might not be actively supportive of your blog, doesn’t mean they’re not supportive of other areas of your life!
I don’t think it’s necessary to make it an obligation for family members to read my blog, let alone comment. I rather they do it if they are indeed interested in what I have to say. Gaining the genuine support of readers that actually like what I have to say-is far better than false applause that have no idea what i’m saying online.
we live in a world where support is measured by likes and “hits” – but support comes in many shapes and forms. I totally agree with your thinking!
I’ve started my blog recently, but have had others in the past. No one I know personally has ever been interested. In fact, I quit sharing it to my Facebook page. I don’t think they have to, however. The Followers I get are fellow bloggers. Some read my posts, others just want to share their link. To have peace of mind, I now think of my blog as more of a journal, which allows me to share my thoughts, then keeps the expectation of being seen low. I do want and long to have interaction with people, as most do, and it can be disappointing when that doesn’t happen. It only makes those who are really interested, all the more special. 🙂
You can definitely have valuable interaction with people through a blog – even if it’s not “real life” people 😌
I am always one of those people that plays devil’s advocate, I guess. You’re right no one has to do anything, but I think our friends and family should show support, the same way we have gone to important events they put on. For example, a lot of my friends sing so I try to go and support them when they are in a show or are putting on a play.
Blogging is my thing. Granted, I do it more frequently, but it’s nice to have your friends and family support you. However, for me, a lot of those people I’m close to don’t. And like you said most of the support I have it from online people or sometimes it’s from people who I am acquainted with, like someone I know from college but weren’t close with.
Secretly, I love when people in the community tell me they read my blogs. It’s really sweet.
I see where you’re coming from. But I do believe there’s hundreds of ways we can be supported, if someone were close to doesn’t read our blog it doesn’t mean they don’t love and support us 😌
Whenever I give someone I know the name of my blog, I always say to them that I’ll never ask them if they’ve read any of it. This frees us both to not pretend or feel obligated.
That’s a good idea!
I agree with your points. I found it hard at first to accept that I had family and friends that were just not interested in the blog. But I also never had strong support as a teacher from them either. Now, I just try to be true to myself and do not let the support or nonsupport I receive affect my choices to be supportive. I am also intrinsically motivated with my blog, and hope to forge online supportive relationships like you’ve described over time.
I hope you find those relationships too, I’m sure you will 😌
I think the concept of obligation restricts us. Both the people who you supporting and the people who are supporting you. Sometimes it can be beneficial to a relationship, but also can be a bit of burden, to be honest.
I agree sometimes we need to get on with our own thing.
No-one should be obligated to do anything for anyone, however I do feel that family and friends should want to support you and vice versa x
I agree but I think support comes in different forms. I know my mum supports me a LOT but she doesn’t read my blog and that’s fine because she supports me in other ways x
[…] Are friends and family obligated to support us? […]
I agree with what you’ve said, it is nice having support from people you know but you want it to be genuinely interested support. There’s nothing wrong with those that aren’t reading your blog.
Additionally for those that have blogging as their career, it’s somewhat hypocritical to expect it too. I have friends who are teachers – should you only send your kids to their school in show of support? I’ve worked in a supermarket in the past – do you expect friends and family only to shop at Sainsbury’s for instance for the duration of your job? You could go on and on. If you want unwavering support it arguably works both ways.
Of course you do need a good support system but I don’t think you should be obligated for that to cross all aspects of your life.
Ooooh those are VERY good points about the teacher/shop worker!
[…] it, and she made a very good point in her blog post, and I would recommend you read at as well, so click here.I messaged Jenny and told her briefly my opinion and how i feel, and I also told her how I had done […]
I’m lucky most of my family support my blog xx
i completely agree with your stance on this jenny! i’ll gladly share my posts on my personal platforms and send posts to certain friends who i think would enjoy them but it’s not a criteria in being my friend. i believe they can support you without having to read all your work. i think it’s more about if you don’t know your friend supports you without constantly having to show you, that’s when you need to re-evaluate. i know my friends support my blogging endeavors regardless of if they read one, none or all of my posts. great post! xxx
mich xx
simplymich.com
I totally agree!
I think your friends and and family can support you, whether that be your hobbies or goals, but they’re not obligated to. My parents and a few friends know about my blog, but they don’t read it. They’re supportive enough to help choose between three featured photos because my eye sight is poor or go on day trips with me, but I don’t expect them to. Great thoughtful post.
I totally agree. My Mum just helped me take some blog photos and that support enough for me, too!
I love it when friends and family show an interest in my blog stuff, but no, i do not expect them to support me. I am probably old enough to be your momma LOL and have had alot of life experiences that have taught me that life is short, Live It! Of course its not that easy either, but when you have the opportunity, by God follow the road, you just never know where you’ll end up. What. A. Journey. it will be too❣
Haha that’s very deep! It’s nice to get the support occasionally but if I don’t, who cares. Like you said, life is too short to worry!
Lol life experiences have made me examine things Deeply! Thanks so much!
Exactly! It’s not a big deal if they don’t. In the same way that they are also hussling with their own work and hobbies, I won’t be able to promise that I’d be liking and sharing every single thing they do. My mom for instance shares a LOT of political posts on Facebook and sometimes I wonder what if she shares my posts in the same intensity, haha, but I know that what I blog about is nothing she is interested in, and it’s my way of “supporting” my mom when I accept the fact that she’s all into controversial political stuff.
I totally agree with you and support comes in so many different ways!
Seriously could not agree with you more!!! This is a very reasonable & rational take to have, and it’s far better than the tweet this was in response to. It seems pretty ridiculous that someone would actually think that way in the first place!
twinklexthoughts.blogspot.com
I know right? It’s ludicrous in my opinion that someone could be that self centred!
Great post and a very interesting topic! I’m with you on this one to be honest, I know my parents read my blog, and sometimes my close friends read my blog posts occasionally but it doesn’t bother me that they don’t always have the time to. Like you said, everyone has busy lives and also not many people have much knowledge of the blogging world! It’s nice to have the support from loved ones of course, but I wouldn’t want anyone to force it!
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Totally agree with you! 😌
Oh Jenny I remember seeing the tweet you are referring to and I am torn… I see both sides and I slightly agree with your reasons for “no” BUT I must admit and I am not going into too much cus I actually have this planned as my next post which is weird lol but I feel really sad that I don’t feel confident enough to ask my family and friends for their support, mainly cus I don’t have a lot of followers and my blog is mainly about Disney but worst of all, my husband couldn’t tell you the last post he read of mine. Which hurts. I have plenty of support from online friends like yourself but it needs to come from someone like a “husband” I think anyway. I’ll be venting more in my post lol xxxxx
My boyfriend doesn’t read any of my posts either but honestly I don’t care. I think it depends on how we are individually too, some people care, some people don’t. I don’t think we should have to ask for support though, I’d never ask anyone to support me especially if they haven’t before. If my writing / topics aren’t they sort of thing, whatever!
Yeah I haven’t “asked” for support especially to family because pat of them are not active online so it would be asking them to go out of their way. But with my husband it goes beyond just reading or not reading he doesn’t even ask about it. I think he forgets I even have a blog x
I think with people who aren’t normally online and don’t really understand this world, it’s pretty clear because you can try and explain a blog to someone and they just won’t get it 😂 But my boyfriend never asks me either and honestly I don’t really care?
Well that’s good at least it does show how different we all feel about it xx
I agree with you. Who wants fake likes or people feeling that they have to get involved?
I’m lucky – some of my best friends do follow my blog and I appreciate that support. Others don’t and that’s ok too!
I think it’s different if people are actively not supporting you – trying to bring you down, laugh at your interests, or trying to make you feel bad. That’s not how a friend should act.
But any relationship that only survives if you regularly tick all the right boxes – otherwise you’re not a good friend – is rarely healthy – if you have to keep proving your loyalty or how much you care it ends up just feeling like a chore.
I totally agree it’s a totally different ball game if people are dragging you down!
I wouldn’t expect my friend to share everything I write for the sake of it but if they have privately expressed appreciation for something I have written then a comment isn’t too much to ask. I understand that people are busy but when you factor in the amount of time we all spend on social media I think we can take a few minutes to comment or share a blogpost. Obviously, this needs to be authentic and not done out of obligation.
http://www.blackpistachio.wordpress.com
I somewhat agree. But a lot of people don’t spend that much time on social media. My parent don’t, my boyfriend doesn’t even own a laptop. They’re so far away from my world that I’m not begrudging them for not understanding fully or actively supporting me.
If the main people in your life aren’t active on SM then that’s totally understandable. My mother is on SM but isn’t active. But I have a lot of friends who are active, some who support me publically and privately and some just privately. I think because I know it is something I would do without question it hurts a little x
Especially if they are using SM to grow their business and are asking for public support.
This was such an interesting post Jenny, and I honestly couldn’t agree more with you. My parents are thankfully so supportive of my blog and what I write and any partnerships I get through doing this, but they support me because they want to, not because I asked. My friends however, aren’t massively supportive when it comes to reading posts regularly and that type of thing, but they love that I’ve found something I love to do in my spare time. The great thing is that I have so many online friends that I support because I love what they do, and it’s the same vice versa! I think when you have platforms such as Instagram or WordPress, it’s so easy to come across people who will support you through everything.
I’m glad to hear you have the support but aren’t too bothered but the lack of interest from friends. There’s definitely not just 1 way to support people either 😌
For sure ☺️
I completely agree with you! My mum supports my blog but not because I asked her to. But apart from her, I don’t think anyone else in my family read my blog unless I share it on Facebook, which I don’t do very often! Most of my friends don’t really read it either, but again, I don’t force them to! I’m happy that people read something of mine that interests them, and that’s enough for me!
Glad you agree! Happy to hear you have that support from you Mum. I never share my blog on my personal Facebook.
You make some great and valid points. I’ve not actually told my friends about my blog. I prefer to keep this separate as my own little place.
http://littlemissmelanie.com
That’s totally fair enough, I think it’s good to have our own “things” sometimes!
Friends and family absolutely do not have to support us. I would rather no support at all than have forced support. I want people to support me because they enjoy my work, not because I force them too.
Same to be honest, fake support is the worst!
I totally agree with this! Hardly anyone in my real life reads my blog. A few of my close friends followed me on my ‘new’ social media accounts when I first started to help me grow numbers so they occasionally read a blog post when it pops up on their twitter feed but that’s about it. My family certainly don’t read it. People are busy and they have different interests anyway, it’s not that deep. It’s only really an issue if they’re actively going out of their way to not support you. Great post! x
Sophie
I totally agree, I don’t think it’s a big deal either which is why I was so baffled by that tweet I saw? 😂
Love this! You are totally right! I wouldn’t want my boyfriend running around trying to get people to read my beauty blog. It would just seem so forced. And what kind of a feeling would you get from your success? This way I know if I do a good job, it’s because I did good work. Thanks for this. I enjoyed reading 🙂
Hahaha I totally agree, that just seems cringy to me 😂
Great post! I needed this. I still haven’t done any blasts on my personal Facebook page about my blog. I thought I would have by now. But I’ve noticed the same thing. I’ve told quite a few friends about it and initially thought I might have heard more from them about it, but I haven’t. It bothers me a little bit but I definitely don’t want our friendship to change over it. I’ve had the same thoughts about them not getting the blogging world and also just not having the time for it. We are all busy with our lives. Getting together for drinks often takes a lot of planning so I try not to think too much about it anymore. It is what it is!
Exactly, there may be something that they’re doing that we don’t know about and don’t support and they’re not bothered so why should we be?
Very true!
I agree with you. I don’t think they are obligated to support you/me. If they do that is super nice – even if it’s just an additional like on Facebook – but I don’t think any less of them if they just say it is not their cup of tea ✌
Totally agree. I wouldn’t dream of getting mad at my boyfriend for not caring about a blog post about a foundation 😂
Oh my gosh, I’m with you all the way on this one. Only one of my friends knows I blog, and she has no idea how to even find it. No one around me knows – because I know they aren’t interested! They’ve got their interests, I’ve got mine and they’re going to get pretty annoyed with me if I keep cramming this down their throats. My parents know, but have never quite got it and I’m not sure my siblings remember. Nor would I want them to. My blog is my outlet – I say stuff I don’t have the confidence to say in real life and will suddenly find myself monitoring what I’m writing if I know that certain people are reading it because they feel they have to. Phew, now I’m ranting. This is such a great post!
Haha I love a rant don’t worry! I totally agree though. My parents know but don’t fully understand and that’s cool?
To be honest I’ve not really given this much thought, as I don’t think my own family reads my blog and I’m not too fussed about it but I know many of my friends do what they can but I don’t expect it per se. I get all points but like you said, no one should feel that they HAVE to.
Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk
Totally, you have a very healthy mindset about it too!
I completely agree with all the points you’ve made in this post. I’ve seen a few tweets along the same lines posted and it always leaves me feeling a bit off. I’m very lucky that my mum and one of my best friends support what I do for the most part, but that’s because they resonate with what I write about. I have other friends who don’t read anything I write. Do I begrudge them for that? Absolutely not. At the end of the day we’re all different, and I wouldn’t want my friends to feel obligated to comment/like something they weren’t genuinely interested in. Like you said, you can definitely still be friends with someone with supporting everything they do!
Totally agree. I totally don’t understand these sentiments that everyone should be supportive of everything you do. It’s so toxic and dangerous?
I actually agree with you. I don’t expect my family (don’t have any close friends in IRL really) to support my blogging. Do they ask me about it? Of course but it has never even crossed my mind that they should feel obligated to do anything else. I get enough support off them with my health issues and that is more than enough for me. 🙂
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip
Totally. My parents ask me occasionally and that’s it, fine!
I don’t think people are obligated to support us, but knowing that they have our backs when we need them the most makes me happy!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
I agree, there’s more than one way to support people too. If it’s not through your blog, it’ll be through something else. And that’s fine 😌
I totally see where you are coming from. I view it in the same vein as we shouldn’t depend on people for our happiness.
I agree!
I totally agree with you on this! I mean, I think your friends and family shouldn’t be down on your blog or anything (I’ve heard of people whose family have been really unsupportive and said they’re wasting their time etc.), but I don’t think anyone should be obliged to spend their own free time reading and supporting your blog if they don’t want to.
Personally, my blogging life and personal life is very separate, and I like it that way. My close friends and family know about my blog, but most of them don’t read it, and people I work with and acquaintances don’t even know about it.
Great post! I hadn’t seen this tweet, but I can definitely see why it caused a bit of controversy!
Totally! There’s a difference between beating someone down for something and just not really supporting it because they either don’t know / don’t understand / aren’t interested / are too busy.
Loved this! I did a post today about how hard it was to not be supported when we took the step of buying our home. I thought more friends and family would be positive rather than being met with criticism. At the end, I realized putting out positivity doesn’t mean getting it in return.
When it comes to my blog, my husband barely even reads it. I would never expect my side projects to be supported the same as other ventures. My family and friends aren’t readers let alone writers, so it’s outside of their usual wheelhouse.
Loved this post!
I loved your post about your house! I guess I feel a bit different because my blog isn’t a side venture, it’s my work but still, I’m not bothered!
My blog is becoming more than a hobby, and it’s terrifying. I loved your post though, and I understand where you’re coming from.
Love the post. Support should be genuine and should come from the heart. Our friends and family are not obligate to support what we do, but they should also not stop what we are doing. We all lead our own lives and know what is best for us. Along the way we will make mistakes but they are ours to make. I have a very supprtive family and friends, if it wasent for my husband my blog would never existed, and their support means so much to me. But even if they did not support it I would love them any way
I agree. As long as they let you get on with it, don’t beat you down for it etc then there’s no issue in my eyes!
I’ve never really given this kind of thing much thought as I’m very fortunate that all my family and most of my friends support my blog and online presence most of the time. However, would I feel differently if they didn’t? I’m not sure! They’re of course not obligated to support my efforts but I think it really is so nice that they do. I definitely don’t think someone should HAVE to support you but if it was my close friends and family who weren’t very supportive then that’d probably make me feel a bit off I think! xxx
http://www.imjustagirl16.co.uk
I think there a difference between actively being unsupportive, beating you down etc and just not being personally interested!
Jenny you bring up a good point and I agree with you. I do not think family and friends MUST show support for online work, especially if they don’t understand the process and platform. I think showing support goes in many directions. But it’s important that everyone in life has a positive attitude towards the things they don’t understand and just being there for one another the best way they can. My sister is not a blogger but she understands the online world so she shows support through likes and comments. My mother who is super busy, knows I like fashion buys me unique pieces to keep me stylish and creative.
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com
There’s certainly more than one one to support someone else! 😌
Love this post & I completely agree with your opinion on this! It’s hard for people to be actively supportive 24/7! My parents do speak about my blog and ask me things but they don’t constantly comment on everything because as you say, not everyone is surrounded by social media and active on it. This is such a healthy mindset. Xxx
Thank you! I totally agree with you too x
This is a lovely blog post and i agree with you, i’d rather not receive the said ‘support’ if its not genuine! Also some people just dont understand what blogging/instagramming is, so you cannot blame them for not supporting you for that matter!
Ayse x
Exactly!
I have seen so many people complaining when friends don’t support them on social and their blog. To be honest, I do not expect my friends to come support me on social media. They have a different way to consume socials and barely use them.
Absolutely 😌 and there’s more than 1 way to support others too!
This is such an interesting topic and post. I didn’t realise that this had been such a big thing. When I saw the title, immediately I thought the four points you have listed and you have explained them perfectly. I literally agree with everything you have said. I would certainly appreciate it if friends and family were a little more interested but ultimately, they have a life and I wouldn’t want them to force it just because they feel that they have to.
Great post Jenny, thoroughly enjoyed reading it,
Amy
http://missamyrach.com
Thanks so much!
I’m quite fortunate to have family and friends that genuinely want to support my blog which i think is really nice but if they didn’t want to read my blog or like my blog posts, I would not cut them out of my life. That is entirely up to them and i would not be offended by it either. I blog for me, no one else. The fact that they read it and actually enjoy it is wonderful but it wouldn’t be an issue for me if they didn’t like it. A lot of what I write is about parenting, family life, my son, motherhood struggles, parenting problems and that might not appeal to everyone.
Totally agree. I know my posts wouldn’t appeal to everyone. Why would my boyfriend want to read about make up?
This is a really interesting debate. My friends and family don’t support my blog and rarely ask about it but as you say the whole online thing isn’t for everybody. That’s why I love twitter though because you can find all the support you need there!
Lozza xo
http://girlygabble.com
I’m totally with you! There’s plenty of people that do support my blog! My boyfriend doesn’t even have a LAPTOP! He never has. So I don’t expect him to fully understand it!
I agree with some points, I don’t think anyone should have to feel like they need to support you but I think if they care, then they should…x
http://www.ofbeautyandnothingness.co.uk
Well I know my mum and boyfriend care about me but I’m not bothered that they don’t actively support (as in like, comment, read etc) my blog if it’s something they’re not interested in.
I really agree with you on some of the points you have made here lovely. No-one in life should be obligated to support anyone else, the point really of it is that they want to support anyone else. 🌸💜
With love, Alisha Valerie x | http://www.alishavalerie.com
Thanks lovely, glad you agree!
Very interesting point. On the whole I’d say I agree with the points you make about there being no strict obligation for support! Personally, this blog is an anonymous outlet for my thoughts and so none of my friends or family have access to it. Some of them are aware that it exists but have no idea what name to look for etc. They have been supportive of the idea I have found a way of voicing my opinions and have not asked me to divulge any additional information. However! In this example it does seem a little bit attention seeking maybe? Very interesting topic though, I suppose this leads towards do we take the love and support of friends and family too much for granted? Wow, this could get very deeply complicated very fast!!
Thank you to all, for the support you provide Xxx
Luna
It certainly could get very deep very quickly haha! 😂 I mean in your situation then it’s totally understandable that they don’t read your blog but as long as they know what you do and support what you do then I think that’s fine, regardless of whether they read it or not. I think that’s the same for my situation too. They know about it and are supportive of ME doing it. But I’m not that bothered that they don’t read it or like my tweets, posts, Facebook posts etc! Xxx
I totally agree. I would rather strangers read my blog because they are interested rather than my family if they are doing it solely because they had too.
I am lucky that my family supports me in the way of verbal encouragement rather than reading my stuff, unless i am very proud of something which i would suggest they read.
That’s totally fair! I think my family and boyfriend DO support me but they just don’t verbalise it or read my posts for a variety of reasons. But I know they support what I do. But I’d much rather a stranger who was genuinely engaged read it too!
That’s a good question!
I still didn’t find the courage to tell my family and friends about my blog, only my husband knows about it.
It means the world to me that he supports the fact that I blog, and I would expect my close ones to do the same.
But what I expect from him is not to blindly support everything I write, I’m very happy to have his “true” feedback even if it’s negative. And I would be really okay with a friend telling me that they don’t relate or are not interested with what I do.
In a nutshell, support what I do, yes, telling me that everything I do is magic, no.
This blog post made me smile. I’ve seen so many people posting things like this lately, as if the only world that exists is the digital, online world. Nope, the real world is still very much alive and kicking and in my opinion, is far more important than a world we log into now and then.
It appears as though people are only reading into things on a surface level nowadays, encouraged to act out by various advertisers and promoters on social media. Find your tribe, segregate yourselves from others with differing opinions. It’s ridiculous.
If people have never supported you with anything in real life, then I can understand wanting to veer away from them, but as you said, people have lives and we can’t just expect them to prioritise us over everything in their lives.
Loved this post, really got a spark ignited inside of me.
Sending much love Jenny. xoxo
I totally agree with you. Some people just don’t “do” the online world and that’s fine too!
I’ve seen quite a few tweets like that one but I’m on the fence with this. On the one hand, I think if your closest family and friends can’t support you with an occasional like or comment then that’s not a good feeling. Particularly if they know you make an income from blogging/social media. But on the other hand, as you say, no-one owes us anything and genuine engagement trumps obligated support every time. I guess it comes down to the relationships you have with your nearest and dearest. And how you support them in return. Great post, Jenny, food for thought and sorry for my ramble!
Lisa xx
Don’t apologise! I love a ramble haha! I see what you mean. My parents and boyfriend know I make my income from my blog but I don’t really care that they don’t read it? I think it also depends what you’re like as a person and whether you would find something like that potentially offensive or upsetting. I don’t get particularly effected by that stuff so maybe that’s why I feel the way I do!
I’m with you sister! I don’t do this or anything expecting support from family and friends. I do things because I want to and I will do what I can to help others without expecting anything back.
I know when I really need them that my family and close friends will be there for me, they have proven this many times x
That’s the main thing then isn’t it? Just because someone might not actively follow your blog doesn’t mean they’re not there for you in real life when you need them!
I think I know which tweet you mean and I actually mainly agreed with it, but for a few different reasons. I get absolutely no support apart from my husband when it comes to my blog, and I’ve accepted that most family and friends aren’t going to like any of my photos or read my posts and I agree that no one is obliged to support you. But the problem I have is a lot of the family and friends support other people online, and are active on social media all the time, so that always makes me think, okay well why don’t you support me then? If that makes sense. If they were supporting no one and not online then I’d completely get it but when they are and show no interest in mine then that’s where I take a bit of offence to it! I try to focus on the people who do give support now which is the people I’ve met online and other bloggers, but it’s taken me a long time to accept and understand why my own family don’t xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
I totally understand where you’re coming from. I get that for personal reason that might be a bit annoying – obviously I don’t know what goes on between you a certain family members. I mean I guess some people in my own family are like that. But I don’t really care x
My blog is my cathartic way to express myself. So I don’t expect anyone to really support it but it’s lovely to have some. And I have an Etsy shop, and again it’s for myself, and uniting spoonies around the world, so I don’t ever expect people to support me out of obligation x
That’s a great mindset to have!
I would rather my blog was liked and shared by strangers that feel a genuine connection to my writing than friends and family sharing it out of obligation.
The tweet must have come along from some serious resentment that this person felt, and if there was more to it, it should have been explained in depth. Otherwise, in honesty it is almost inflammatory and done for a reaction.
I don’t think there was anything more to this particular tweet. I think they were just expressing what they obviously thought was what should happen. A lot of people just happened to disagree with it! I totally agree with what you’ve said though 😌
That’s really sad then. I don’t want to force anyone to read anything of mine. If they want to read they will.
People would soon get fed up of seeing post from me if I was constantly badgering them to read and share x