Blogging: “The Digital-Era Sweatshop”

www.inkthinkerblog.com — I never really thought of blogging as a modern-day widowmaker, but according to an article in this week’s New York Times, bloggers are dropping like flies as a result of long hours, high stress, limited sleep, and poor nutrition as a result of being constantly glued to the computer.

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style. (source)

As a 26-year-old who needs a new glasses prescription about every 10 months because of working on the computer all day every day, and who suffers from frequent head and neck aches from sitting in one position for hours at a time, I can at least attest to the physical strain of working in a Web-focused arena. I can also speak to how easy it is for hours to slip away during research or writing time. And for those who tend to lose track of time easily OR who tend to be obsessive, it’s easy to get caught up in a cycle of more and more hours in front of the screen with little impact when it comes time for a paycheck. 

Even at established companies, the Internet has changed the nature of work, allowing people to set up virtual offices and work from anywhere at any time. That flexibility has a downside, in that workers are always a click away from the burdens of the office. For obsessive information workers, that can mean never leaving the house.

Blogging has been lucrative for some, but those on the lower rungs of the business can earn as little as $10 a post, and in some cases are paid on a sliding bonus scale that rewards success with a demand for even more work. (source)

But some of this stuff is pretty foreign to me. For instance, falling asleep in front of the computer? Repeatedly? I don’t think I even did that when I was pulling all-nighters in college. Granted, if I were to live perpetually on 4-5 hours of sleep a night, it would be a more likely occurrence, but fortunately it’s not now the case.

That being said, I can understand the stress. Jen, who co-hosts the new Network Blog Tips with Deb Ng, posted recently about compensation for blogging gigs. For those bloggers whose income is mostly or wholly dependent on traffic, being the first to post about breaking news can mean the difference between real meals and ramen noodles. That can lead to long hours and high stress.

So, are you a balanced blogger? Or are you, like many out there, suffering because you’re not taking good enough care of yourself while blogging?

Here’s what some others have had to say on the topic:

• Anatomy of a ‘Blogging will kill you’ story: Why I didn’t make the cut
• Wow, the NY Times is really reaching in their fascination with scaring people about blogging
• Is Blogging Really This Dangerous?
• Blogging to Death?
• Is Blogging Hazardous to Your Health?
• Bloggers Aren’t the Only Ones Overworked and Underpaid
• Death by Blogging
• Blogging Becomes Health Risk
• Blogging: Not a Sweatshop

What do YOU think?

Tags: freelance writing blog, freelance writing, freelance, writing, advice for freelance writers, death by blogging, blogging to death, dangers of blogging, digital era sweatshop, new york times, new york times article on blogging, new york times article about blogging, inkthinker, kristen king

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