TUMBLR TRAPPED IN THE POSTMODERN:

A brief non-expert critique on Tumblr and Postmodernism
by Cheeno Marlo Sayuno 

We were discussing postmodernism in yesterday's class. I don't know a lot about these -isms, but I understood that, when it comes to the postmodern, the mood is rather skeptic. We choose reality without measures. There are multiple conflicting ideas, and it seems chaotic because there is no sole truth in these ideas that we individually correct. Your truth can be true, but I have truths, too. And if your truth clashes mine, that's not my problem anymore.

Accoring to Jean Baudrillard, the high priest of postmodern culture, we have already lost contact of the real. We only live in simulations of reality, not the real real. We actively replace the real with a representation of it. A copy of a copy of a copy.

Without claiming expertise, I say that Tumblr is under the umbrella of postmodernity. Just like any community, we change as time goes by. Before, followers matter. Followers are usually the determining factor for Tumblr fame. But don't you notice that this idea has been overthrown by ourselves? Now, we reject the idea that followers determine your Tumblr status symbol and even hate people who worship this idea. In any -ism, it has been about a certain idea, and the transition is usually about overthrowing that certain idea. Just like what we do on Tumblr.

The loss of history and the reliving of it are also signs of postmodernity. If you would notice, those who have stayed on Tumblr for years would sometimes post about memories of, for example, the White Day meetup, or they would lament about how Tumblr used to be like this or that. Thus, Tumblr is not like that anymore and what has happened in the past will belong to history that is lost, relived and remade, but never the same again.

Another element that relates Tumblr to postmodernism is the conect of consumer society and "cool smile." Cool smile is similar to how endorsers smile and act like that the trend now is to eat this and use that product. It is an advertising strategy, yes. In Tumblr, it is tantamount to how those who are branded famous do activities and influence people to do the same. One blogger would create that four-panel photo of showing Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Pinoy poses, and others would follow. One would read Fifty Shades of Grey, and when others see that people are reading it, they read the book, partly because they love reading, partly because of the influence of the posts people make about them. In a world where people fight just to fit in and be part of something, we all tend to follow what many do in order to belong.

Superficiality is also postmodern. You would probably know that Tumblr before was about blogging and how your posts arouse interest to other people. Now, with the advent of GPOY and TTH posts and others that relate to the superficial, people follow people more for their physical features and less for the sense and humor that they make in their posts. We are in the process of overthrowing the idea, but for the most part, this phenomenon is still evident. 

My fear is, in the continuous process of postmodernity in Tumblr, we would loss depth to the point that we don't think much anymore. It is a good thing to not problematize things and just enjoy, not thinking too much only to take you nowhere, but sometimes, too much of not thinking leads to senselessness and to the loss of meaning and appreciation of things for more than what they physically are.

With today's technological advancement, we cannot escape postmodenism. However, we can still make sense of the things that need to be taken seriously and not think much of little things that we should not make too much a big deal of. We just have to weigh them properly.