Random Thought About The World (“Digital Catharsis”?)

I didnt know where to capture this emerging thought, so I’m putting it here. Please add comments or thoughts if you’ve got any and help me see if there is a pattern!

I’ve been a big fan of Post Secret for a long time now and have thought about the voyeuristic pleasures in seeing the misery and true feelings of human-kind, but it was only when I visited Dear God (set up by The Cool Hunter crew) that I started to ponder a change in society we might be witnessing.

In very simplistic terms, French Existentialism, led by Jean Paul Sartre, began after World War 2  as the traditionally very pious nation couldnt come to terms believing that God could have allowed their country to be ravaged by the Nazis. This about-face of intellectual thinking resulted in absolute ego and an almost detachment of personal responsibility (Camus’ L’Etranger perhaps best describes this) rather than appropriating blame onto unseen forces and fates.

I wonder therefore, if we’re seeing a similar shift in values. It may be something to to with the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, the attack on the World Trade Centres, and the general rise in religious violence – but it may also be a desire for people to “confess” in a world that is increasingly under threat and increasingly without personal meaning.

Are sites like Dear God and Post Secret not in fact “fame” sites - allowing people to be famous for their sins and fears – but really portals of catharsis. The rise of blogging technology and other online “diaries” might further this thought. The We Feel Fine site captures the state of the (English speaking) digital world too.

Religious belief clearly rises when you have children – the desire for meaning, hope, belief, that there is more… and also we’ve heard lots of reports about the return to conservative or traditional values in Western societies (the recession has helped this clearly!)

Just some random beginnings of thoughts. Please comment, build, divert, transcend if you can!

EDIT: This International Herald Tribune article (found through Not Another Mindshare Blog) might extend the thought further, suggesting we’re in an age of “ambient intimacy“, exploring Facebook’s newsfeed and Twitter and the social connectons that it makes – essentially allowing people to feel “less alone”. The mobile workforce and self-employed that spend their days in solitude now have a connection for intimacy, no matter how banal it might be.

UPDATE:  Seems that I’m not the only one putting 1 and 4 together to see if there’s a pattern. BusinessWeek (thanks PSFK) have got something else we could add to the thinking. Social networks and catharsis / therapy? 

Rising foreclosures, tumbling stocks, surging job losses, and other symptoms of the recession are adding to people’s stress and anxiety levels. To cope, Internet users are increasingly finding an outlet through online social media. “These new channels are providing a sense of community in an environment where there is a sudden, almost compelled, need…not to feel alone,” says Sherry Turkle, a professor of social studies of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Some are logging on to vent frustrations; many are commiserating with others. Still others are collaborating to find solutions, like landing a new job or helping friends in need.

Read the full article here