What's Blogging got to do with Gratitude and Authentic Happiness?

I'm really big on the idea of getting students to look "beyond themselves", and technology, especially blogging, is a wonderful tool to do just this. This is a gentle process in my Web 2.0 Technologies class; we talk first about how they use technology in their own lives. Common answers are to download music, to watch online videos, to chat, and to update their MySpace pages. After this discussion I have them learn about the Guinea Worm. Most cringe, and look askew at me when they realize what we're going to study (mostly girls cringe -- some boys say "cool" or "wicked" to hide their true immediate thoughts). Having a two foot worm growing inside of your body sounds almost sci-fi. Knowing that there is no cure for it scares them. Finally, after watching a web video about this water-borne African illness and the extraction process of pulling the worm out an inch a day - usually from the leg or foot because it has "surfaced" to breed - a student will ask, "Why are we studying this? I thought we were here to learn about Web 2.0 technologies."

Then arrives the teachable moment we all look for and crave. We begin a discussion about how this all happens because of lack of clean drinking water. Here we set with new computers, new flat screen monitors, new software, a T1 Internet connection and Web 2.0 tools everywhere we look. Clean drinking water is a given. We don't even give a thought about how important it is. Then we take a look at the site Global Rich List , and then the lights (or lack of lights) in this satellite image and tie both into what we're discussing. Then I begin to talk about how technology has made others aware of the Guinea Worm problem in Africa, but the power of the message really depends on who wants to listen, who wants to care, who wants to "tune in" and see it as "valuable". Slowly discussion weaves around to talking about how technology can be used as a narcissistic tool for our own pleasure (i.e. experiencing the latest/greatest download), or be used to help others - to promote awareness of really important issues, to cause people to act and bring about change.

Martin Seligman (2002) writes that "People typically use three strategies to chase happiness: by 1) pursuing pleasure, by 2) engaging in personally meaningful actions, and by 3) performing service." He asserts that only two of these, 2 and 3, really lead to happiness. I've taken it upon myself to help students learn this, not through words, but through action. When it comes time to create their second blog in my class, I really encourage them to "step outside of themselves" and find a topic that really, really needs to be talked about -- that others need to know about so change can occur. We talk about countries whose governments won't let their citizens even have blogs or who shut them down because they do just this. We talk about the power of blogging, about the democratization effect it wields, about how blogs give us, the common person, an incredible platform to say what needs saying, and in return, have a real audience with real conversations these important issues.

I was so proud of my students last semester. Each of them, save one, chose a topic that was "outside of themselves"; their self-chosen blog topics included racism against Hispanic Americans, prejudice against homosexuals, ethical issues related to abortion, child sweatshops, child soldiers, blood diamonds, the use of child slave labor in the production of chocolate, deforestation, the importance of finding alternative fuels, racism in the NBA, and racism in international soccer. The students explored their chosen topics through blogging, but also learned to use various online apps. to bolster their blog messages (podcasts, slideshows, etc). When the dots started appearing on their visitor maps, their eyes grew wide. When comments began to happen, their motivation to keep blogging was even more fueled. I truly believe their excitement came from finding a slice of "true happiness" - one that transcended their false narcissistic search for meaning. They had begun the process of moving down the two real paths to happiness, namely meaningful actions and service.

I am convinced that young people today want to have a voice and want to bring about social change, despite how our commercial culture molds them into pleasure seekers. I am convinced that blogging - the act of using a wide reaching Web 2.0 tool - can facilitate this. The opportunity, the audience and conversation are all real, ready to be had.