heh, heh 
But, just to be clear–are you saying that the age group of 40-50 was actually missing from the survey? (that’s what this little side-discussion was about)
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Oh - I’m sorry - I did not realize I skipped that as I was retyping that quickly.
What do the other age groups do? Is there a way to reproduce the survey, or is it triggered randomly?
It’s tumblr. The entire site is “triggered randomly”.
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the link came in an email - tossed it already
Aha, that explains that, then.
Thanks for the reply 
I have a friend who sends me links to Tumblr articles every now and again, because she works with teenagers and frequently forwards stuff that shows how smart and aware a lot of these kids are.
As near as I can tell, I have bottles of scotch older than anybody else on that site.
So, yeeeeeaahhh… 50 year old with Tumblr account more or less gives me the same vibe as 50 year old hanging out by the jungle gym.
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Heh. Smart and aware in their own little bubble only. Once they get out into the real world, they’re fucked.
I guess it’s kind of like Reddit in a way. You can only interact with your specific niche, for the most part. I follow some cosplayers, some other people that sew, and some “bad dating” blogs because that shit is hilarious when you’ve been married for years. So that’s all I see, more or less (one of the sewing blogs will occasionally queue up naked men when she’s on vacation so sometimes there’s surprise penis in my feed).
Really I only chose it for my blog platform because two of my siblings and my dad had one. I think my dad only ever made 3 posts. The only time I see that Tumblr angst is when my sister’s girlfriend reblogs some argument that’s making the rounds.
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Translation: you should lie about your age on Tumblr.
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As kids we all incubated in our own little bubbles and hopefully not all of us are fucked. I’m trying to figure out why you think kids reading out on a social media platform, instead of just in their own physical locations (which, depending on what sort of weird kid they are, can be incredibly lonely), is somehow bad or will damage their social development?
My niece once described tumblr as a place for socially awkward kid (as opposed to like Instagram, where the Heathers and Mean Girls of the world apparently congregate). As a formerly socially awkward kid, I think it’s probably helpful that they can find a place where they can share their interests with others, especially if they are kids who don’t conform and live in a very conservative area with no one to talk to. I would probably be a more well-adjusted person if I had found my own weirdos way earlier than I actually did. We are, at our heart, social creatures and being isolated can lead to suicide, or at the very least, serious self-harm. And that can mean they are fucked when they get out in the “real world.”
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I just want to say you’re really good at writing down what I’m thinking in a way that makes more sense than I could. Sometimes a like just doesn’t cut it, so thanks.
I 
Tumblr. It’s a good place for kids to explore ideas or figure out who they really are. Really don’t see why it gets so much hate.
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Lots of things that are popular among tween/teen girls get the side eye. Lots of people don’t take tween/teen girls seriously as a demographic. As a former tween/teen girl (TBH quite a while ago), I can attest to how people tend to look down on girls and girl hood with a certain derision.
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I the 50+ use Tumbler for a variety of blog-light uses where I think its actually a great tool. I spend less time on the follows and feeds, although there are lots of great (non-teen-girl) bloggers there that post images of space ships and modern architecture and other things I love. I could give a damn about the tumblrhaters.
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I don’t think using social media is a bad thing, or Tumblr or anything similar will damage kids’ social development. Your take on Tumblr seems way rosier than mine, however. I think it seems like a pretentious place, and can certainly be mean in its own little way. I’m also way older than their target demographic, but Tumblr seems like another clique in its own right. If Instagram is the jocks and cheerleaders, Tumblr is the theater kids. Not the cool kids, but equally as hostile to outsiders as they are. I don’t like cliquishness and I don’t like pretentiousness, so there’s something about Tumblr that rubs me the wrong way.
When I said Tumblr kids are fucked when the go out in the real world, I know whereof I speak. It’s easy to be smart and insightful within one’s own clique, but the real world is a harsh and unforgiving place. I’ve got my own differences, as you’re probably aware, and there are more conservative parts of the country where I wouldn’t even be welcome. I have lived in many of them. I can’t ask for acceptance there. Maybe tolerance, and only then if I try my damnedest to blend in. I have to hide who I am and put up a front, literally in order to survive.
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I get what you’re saying, but what you’re missing is that the sort of cliquishness that you’re speaking of can save people’s lives.
I grew up in a place where difference wasn’t accepted or tolerated, so I understand and empathize there. But it’s that sort of attitude that causes the theater kids to be so insular and protective of their own environment. It’s not the same thing as the cool kids being cliquish (though it can come with it’s own problems). Tumblr allows those kids to find a larger group and kids in places with no other theater kids to find someone that understands and accepts them.
That doesn’t mean tumblr can’t have problems of course. I just think that we all need a safe space, and being snarky about this one misses that point, I’d argue.
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It can be. The bullied become the bully far too easily.
It’s like everybody was a nerd or a geek in high school, but all that means is that they weren’t in the cool clique and had to settle for being a theatre geek or a band geek. Very few were legit outcasts. That’s a bad place to be, because there’s no safe space to speak of.
I’m not being snarky. My opinion on Tumblr just differs from yours.
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Yes. I know that very well, actually. My point is that there are kids who are bullied who end up in those cliques and they become protective for different reasons than the cool kids.
Assuming that all the kids of tumblr are only mean theater kids is kind of missing the point, I think. But fair enough.
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I never assumed that, but I realize it attracts those kinds of people.
A safe space that requires people to shut up and toe the line is no safe space at all.
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