As any major fan of the social media site Tumblr can tell you, Tumblr can be the best and it can be the worst. There are many different sides to Tumblr. Some that make it really fun and entertaining and some that are very dark and perhaps can be seen as triggering for some people. So here are 10 reasons I am in a love/hate relationship with Tumblr, five that celebrate Tumblr, and five against the site.
I encourage all of you, even with these negatives and positives, to go and check the website out! It can be an amazing website to experience.
Five reasons we love Tumblr:
1. The humor on this site is always on point.
Tumblr humor has always been around, it is weird and wacky and not everyone understands it. Sometimes it is a little sarcastic which shows just how well rounded it can be.
2. It makes being in a fandom even better!
Being in a fandom before Tumblr was a bit lonely, you maybe had 4 friends who were also big friends that you fangirled with about your fandom of choice. Now with Tumblr, you get fanart and other people across the world who love it just as much as you do.
3. It is a great way to meet people.
Very similar to number two, you find a lot of people on Tumblr who you relate to and have a lot of common. Sometimes it is a great way to meet cool new people to get to know!
4. You get to show off your creative side to people with similar interests.
As it says the first thing is all about creativity, post poems, and short stories. Draw a picture and post it! That is the joy of Tumblr is no one should judge you if you just try your best.
5. It's very simple to use!
The website almost teaches you how to use it all on its own with simple outlines and instructions but the basic set up where it shows you things you will like based on interests you pick! What isn’t to love about this people-pleaser!
Five reasons we strongly dislike Tumblr:
1. Some people romanticize mental illnesses.
There are people on Tumblr who find the ideas of mental illness and self-harming to be a romantic notion. For instance saying “I am beautiful because of my illness” rather than “I am beautiful in spite of my mental illness”. There is nothing beautiful about it. It is a serious thing and deserves to be treated that way.
2. Thinspiration.
There is this thing called Thinspiration, and for those unaware of what it is, let me put it simply. It is the idea of being a pro-anorexia person. There are full blogs dedicated to encouraging people with these disorders to keep going, or if they feel like they want to eat or should eat the blog will help them through it and give them ideas to distract themselves from the need to eat. This is a major issue that plagues Tumblr.
Here is a blog post that further explains and gives examples to Thinspiration for you all to check out.
3. There's way too much porn…
Tumblr can be loads of fun, but sometimes there are things on the website that just make you want to cringe and throw your phone. Porn can be a serious issue on Tumblr, in which it can randomly pop up while scrolling through next to your mom and praying she doesn’t see it.
4. Some people take credit for other people's work.
There is nothing wrong with reblogging things or even reposting them if you give the artist or writer credit!! Always make sure you do not take credit for other's work! And if you know who did it make sure to give them credit! Sometimes if you don’t know it even works to just post it and ask if anyone knows the creator. Never try and steal things that aren’t yours!
Here is a link to a post that explains just why reposting without giving credit is a bad thing to do.
5. Some people get overly offended by anything.
Tumblr has the tendency to make a mountain out of a molehill as the saying goes. Easily offended by little things or quick to jump at someone who posts their own opinion.
So here has been a list of ten things that aid in a love-hate relationship with Tumblr! While Tumblr has many great things going for it, there are some faults in the website that can make even the most dedicated Tumblr User want to delete the app or website. So may the good things get better and the bad things work on not being around anymore.