Blogging vs Vlogging: Have we moved on to the next best thing?

It feels like a lifetime ago when I last took the time to sit down and really think long and hard about what to write on my blog. I used to dedicate hours of my time to blogging, which was one of my biggest passion projects and a means to express my creativity, share my thoughts and ideas and post photos of memorable events, people and things.

Things have certainly changed now. As I no longer just sit down and arrange my thoughts into sentences, but write a rough outline or script, set-up a camera in front of me, try to speak without making mistakes while being as natural as can be, and edit for hours on end until the video log is uploaded on YouTube. It is yet another skill I had to learn, because well, it seems people seem to now prefer watching something on YouTube to reading blogs.

I remember the moment when I finally called myself a blogger (it was probably around 2013). It was so strange and unreal, and I felt like an imposter, although I was writing blogs pretty much every single day. What did I write about? Things that sparked my interest: fashion, makeup, skincare, travel–I wrote about topics I liked reading about basically. And when I allowed people to call me a blogger, I was secretly happy and proud (of course, I didn’t want to show too much excitement). I felt like I was a part of this exclusive club, and the best part was that people actually visited my site to read what I had to say. I mean, it felt incredible to have my personal thoughts be read by people from all over the Philippines (and the world), and for it to matter. It was wonderful (it still is, which is why I am so inspired to write this blog).

When I first started, writing was difficult for me because my thoughts were all over the place and I couldn’t seem to arrange them coherently. I was also very critical of my work, so I would end up starting over many times as I was perpetually unsatisfied with my work. I would shred my work to pieces until what was left was just a basic thought that didn’t have any personality, or simply put, it didn’t sound like me. Eventually I found my voice and went on to blog every single day.

I cant imagine doing that anymore. Only because so many other things are now taking up my time. Also, what would I talk about? Are people even interested in reading long blogs about feelings and realizations? I think the rise of Instagram has shortened the attention span of everyone. We want information faster than ever before–no time for rambling. We need to know things right now, and if you can fit it into a cute caption then all the better.

I am not exempt from this, of course. I get it. I mean, one Instagram Story is 15 seconds long, and I don’t even finish it. I usually move on to the next story after only 2.5 seconds–that’s how fast I want my information. That’s why I cant bring myself to sit down and write unless I am really inspired (like right now). Otherwise, I would just binge watch YouTube videos of travel vlogs, luxury bag reviews, unboxing videos and television series/movie reviews.

So, I have come to realize many months ago that blogging might be on its way to its inevitable demise. That’s why I have forced myself to make the shift to making video logs instead, which has been so difficult for someone who has been so used to making blogs. But there is still a part of me who refuses to believe that. I mean, I am here right now, writing on this blog, which I hope my long time readers will read. Last time I checked my numbers there are still quite a lot of you who visit my blog (THANK YOU), so there is still hope I guess.

Now I find myself in this dilemma. Do I continue on blogging in this space or do I fully immerse myself in the YouTube video log life? These are two very different mediums, which is why it is so difficult to commit to both. A part of me wants to move on without looking back, but then I look at this beautiful blog that I’ve created and re-read all the entries I’ve written for the past seven years and I think, no. I will not let this go. I will continue to write for as long as my readers will continue to read what I have to say.