Since I started this blog, I've noticed a ton of other dads floating around on the internet, sharing their tips, stories, and opinions. It's great. It feels like an instant community, and I think it represents the ideal of what the Internet could and should be.
Of course some of them are trying to sell you stuff, but I don't actually think there's anything wrong with that (Heck, I wouldn't be mad if you clicked on one of the links and bought something off Amazon). Here's why the sales thing isn't a problem, in my opinion: it's because a lot of these dads you see on the Web are forward thinking, generous and caring people, who are providing a vital service to other like-minded dads and fathers-to-be. They are sharing honest, unfiltered perspectives on their experiences in a lot of cases, and they're making it okay for dads to be more active participants in their children's upbringing. They're trying to make a progressive, egalitarian lifestyle an economically feasible choice, and that's just cool.
By contrast, I currently live in the 'burbs and (confession time) reside in my mother-in-law's house, with my expecting wife. I won't bother getting defensive about taking some time to cultivate my career as a writer, but to a lot of people in these parts, it looks weird, a grown man not out there grinding away at a regular day job. If I felt totally isolated and alone, it would be extremely difficult to work on this weird life I want to create. That's why I love the Internet dads phenomenon. It always reminds me that there are others out there who don't want to be confined to some pre-determined life narrative. They used to say that the university is the sanctuary for new ideas, but I think the Web is actually serving this purpose in a much more interesting way these days. Go dads! That's part of why I'm here. I'm just so darn next.
As a final and slightly separate thought, I think there's an obvious reason why it's so much easier to find forward-thinking dads on the web. It's because in the vast majority of cases the dads who would blog about their experiences publically tend to be the forward thinking ones. If you looked through my Twitter follows, for example, you might think that the world has become some kind of egalitarian paradise, where people divide family work according to their talents and needs rather than prescribed gender ideals. There, in this perfect webby word, parents are creative, constructive collaborators, sharing in all the joy and exasperation of raising young ones. It's a good place to be, and it provides a model for a way of envisioning a more connected and meaningful family life.
Of course some of them are trying to sell you stuff, but I don't actually think there's anything wrong with that (Heck, I wouldn't be mad if you clicked on one of the links and bought something off Amazon). Here's why the sales thing isn't a problem, in my opinion: it's because a lot of these dads you see on the Web are forward thinking, generous and caring people, who are providing a vital service to other like-minded dads and fathers-to-be. They are sharing honest, unfiltered perspectives on their experiences in a lot of cases, and they're making it okay for dads to be more active participants in their children's upbringing. They're trying to make a progressive, egalitarian lifestyle an economically feasible choice, and that's just cool.
By contrast, I currently live in the 'burbs and (confession time) reside in my mother-in-law's house, with my expecting wife. I won't bother getting defensive about taking some time to cultivate my career as a writer, but to a lot of people in these parts, it looks weird, a grown man not out there grinding away at a regular day job. If I felt totally isolated and alone, it would be extremely difficult to work on this weird life I want to create. That's why I love the Internet dads phenomenon. It always reminds me that there are others out there who don't want to be confined to some pre-determined life narrative. They used to say that the university is the sanctuary for new ideas, but I think the Web is actually serving this purpose in a much more interesting way these days. Go dads! That's part of why I'm here. I'm just so darn next.
As a final and slightly separate thought, I think there's an obvious reason why it's so much easier to find forward-thinking dads on the web. It's because in the vast majority of cases the dads who would blog about their experiences publically tend to be the forward thinking ones. If you looked through my Twitter follows, for example, you might think that the world has become some kind of egalitarian paradise, where people divide family work according to their talents and needs rather than prescribed gender ideals. There, in this perfect webby word, parents are creative, constructive collaborators, sharing in all the joy and exasperation of raising young ones. It's a good place to be, and it provides a model for a way of envisioning a more connected and meaningful family life.
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