It's Okay, They're Only 20...

Imagine this, you sit down at your computer or you open up your laptop. You pull up the internet and decide to take a little trip to Dollywood. Type in "Blogger.com", log in, and in a matter of second you are looking at your dashboard. Browsing through, looking for an interesting topic to catch you eye. Finally you come across a title, perhaps from a writer you know, maybe from someone totally new, maybe they are even a friend. Whoever it is, the title caught your interest. You open it up and you start reading. 

You finish the post and instead of laughing or enjoying the post you’re in a small state of shock. The post wasn't enjoyable or entertaining. It wasn't about the latest Stardoll feature or shop, no new project. No, this post was about some powerful and controversial topic. In these past few months we have had posts like that, they were about religion, the proper age on Stardoll, how people act and what they do on Stardoll and the blogs. Now perhaps the topic itself wasn't harmless but the way the writer presented it was wrong. Harsh, lack of knowledge, surplus of knowledge in the wrong topic. Whatever it was, you are left not really knowing what to say. Maybe anger sets in. You think, "How dare this person be so rude!" Or maybe, "They don't know what they are talking about!" Alright, maybe anger doesn't set in, what about confusion. I know many times I finish a post and think "What the heck did I just read?" 

After I read the post (and in some instances, re-read) I head down to the comments to see what everyone else has to say. Usually (I have found this happens with countless posts) there are the angry comments, all too harsh anonymous comments that cuss far too much, the ever so sweet and slightly agreeing with the writer comments, and then there is one. Always one. This one is usually very logical, brings out different points (always against the writer and their post), and then they finish off with one final point. One final comment that seems to dismiss the entire post and tames down the gun show in the comments section. What is this one comment that can seem to work wonders? 

(Should be able to click to enlarge)

Age. Age is always brought up. Now, not every bad post is written by someone young but they often are I will admit that. The same excuse is always given though.

In a sense, I agree. The younger you are the less the filter on your mouth works. You type things thinking it will be a great topic. Maybe you think, "I saw how that person wrote on that blog so maybe if I write something a little similar I will get 100 comments like they did." At the time, it seems like a bright, new, never thought of idea. You write the post, you edit it until it is perfect, making sure it explains your point exactly and with just a bit of a harsh touch, because, come one, who doesn't love those snide remarks and sarcastic little statements. You post it thinking of how much of a success it will be. Then, the time of judgment comes. Comments are a free for all (and if anonymous is enabled, you're in for a bloody massacre). We have all seen the comments section resemble a war zone. Then the lovely "voice of reason" comes in. 

Let me ask you a question though, do you think age matters when writing posts on Stardoll blogs? 

Before you answer that, let me present my argument. 

First off, I personally feel that no matter how young you are your age should not affect the repercussions of your statements. The way I view it, if you are old enough to know and understand what you are writing, old enough to state your opinion and put it into words, you are old enough to deal with the consequences. Now true, like the first comment stated, the younger the writer, the less mature they will be so they don't always immediately see what their post will result in. Does it mean though that they should be held responsible when they make blatant statements? Rude remarks? Stupid posts? 

I view it this way; say this person (age 11 - 13) writes a post. It is great. People enjoy it, the points were good. They receive praise for what THEY wrote. Readers give credit to the writer. The same week, that same person writes another post. This time, it infuriates readers. They view it though as "They are a child. You can't take anything they say seriously. They don't know what they are talking about." 

Catch my drift here? 

Many will probably say I am not being fair. I am not considering their age. But how about this, I started on Stardoll when I was nine so nearly six years ago. So yes, I am fifteen. I started writing on Stardoll blogs between the ages of twelve and thirteen. I will be the first one to admit, I put my foot in my mouth. A lot. I got some not so nice comments. I knew the entire time though what I was talking about, what I was posting about. I also understood where the readers were coming from when posting their comments. I was totally capable of being held responsible for my actions, and believe me, I was held responsible. I do believe it has made me a better writer. 

Today we have a mish-mash of writers ranging from younger to older. There are exceptional writers of each age. We have outstanding posts from fantastic writers and later we discover they are none other than eleven, twelve, and thirteen. Should they not be held responsible for what they say too? If they wrote a controversial post, would their age finally kick into play and everyone disregard it as "they don't understand what they are talking about"? 

So, as I draw this post to an end, I ask you again, do you think age matter when writing a post on Stardoll? 

Sara Rose♥♥ 

(By the way, if you have not yet figured it out, I am Sara [sarabear123] and I am a new trial writer here to serve you)