Voices
ests, and a real desire to help each
other and understand one another.
I am far from the only teenager
who has come to use Tumblr in this
fashion. The site has exploded in
popularity among a certain slice of
the teenage world in part because
of how its users have transformed
it into a safe place where you need
not fear being judged by anyone.
Tumblr has become a place for
outcasts to express themselves on
subjects ranging from what clothes
they like to their favorite TV shows
to their sexual orientation.
Some of what we do here may
seem unimportant — debating
our worship of one or another fictional character or which member
of One Direction we’d like to meet.
But Tumblr also occupies a much
more serious place for some users. People use it to seek help with
their math homework. They use it
as a plea for help when they find
themselves confronting suicidal
thoughts. People with serious mental disorders find friends through
Tumblr, since they feel out of place
in real life.
On Tumblr, people say what
they really feel, without concern
for bad consequences, feeling confident that this is the nature of the
community. That encourages other
LEAH
GOODMAN
HUFFINGTON
06.09.13
people to do the same, all of which
makes Tumblr more and more real
for those of us who embrace it.
We Tumblr users do commonly
worry that people from school may
find our blogs and make fun of
them or gossip about our problems.
We Tumblr users do
commonly worry that people
from school might find our
blogs and make fun of them …
Now, with Yahoo agreeing to
purchase Tumblr, it’s as if that
fear has become a bitter reality.”
Now, with Yahoo agreeing to purchase Tumblr, it’s as if that fear has
become a bitter reality. My Tumblr
dashboard — the place where I see
everyone who I follow — now looks
like a terrible accident has hit the
site. It is full of fears that Tumblr
as we know it is ending.
Surely, Yahoo, having paid $1.1
billion for Tumblr, is going to start
advertising the site like crazy, causing new people to sign up without
understanding the community. It’s
as if our beloved island is about to
fill up with high-rise hotels that
will be jammed with tourists who
have no respect for the culture.