Start Keeping a Paper Diary

From dailykos.com

By Steven Strauss

Why AI-mediated search and word processing make analogue records matter

For the past twenty years, traditional search engines returned links to outside sources you could inspect yourself. Yes, governments sometimes distorted results (e.g., China’s Great Firewall), but the basic model still pointed you to the source document. And your word processor was just that — a tool for writing — not a channel for surveillance or control.

We’re now in a world of AI-mediated search, synthesis and writing. Many people ask chatbots to find information or draft summaries. That convenience carries a risk: Outputs can reflect what powerful actors — governments, billionaires, platforms — prefer you to see. Orwell understood that controlling the past meant controlling the future. Today’s AI systems offer unprecedented efficiency in doing exactly that.

The threat operates on two levels. First, there’s the historical record itself. Stalin famously airbrushed purged officials out of photographs and the written record, but it was a painstaking manual process. With AI, rewriting history becomes much easier and quicker. Digital archives and publications can be altered at scale, with the original versions ‘disappeared’ down the memory hole (as China is trying to do with the Tiananmen Square). Second, there’s real-time filtering of what you’re allowed to access right now. Whether it’s Grok spreading conspiracy theories, X (AKA Twitter) boosting right-wing content, extreme content and politicians X owner Elon Musk favours, or Chinese AI models refusing to acknowledge Tiananmen Square: Tools reflect their masters’ priorities.

Today’s word processors are increasingly connected to AI systems that could potentially encourage, or discourage, certain kinds of writing. As these tools become more deeply integrated with AI assistance, the possibility grows that they might subtly shape what we write — to align with the preferences of those who control them. And perhaps, if we don’t take the hint, our word processor will report us to Big Brother — a remote possibility in the US, but more likely in China.

In the United States, the Trump administration is tightening its grip on media and technology companies through threats, litigation, regulation, and encouraging ownership by its allies. It’s also actively concealing the historical record — scrubbing mentions of the January 6th riots and recasting the January 6, 2021 insurrection as the work of “peaceful patriots”. Project this forward: Into a world where AI is ubiquitous and even more deeply embedded in our everyday tools, where the Trump administration has had time to even more tightly control the media and tech companies — and where consequently, objective truth might be hard to find.

Imagine it’s 2028, and you’re an ordinary American trying to write an email — critical of Trump and the GOP — to your friends. Your AI-enabled search engine presents two sides to the January 6th riots — suggesting maybe it wasn’t as bad you remember. You ask a chatbot about the 2020 election, and while it tells you Biden won — it casts doubt on the legitimacy of Biden’s election, and so on. You try to gather economic information to compare Biden’s and Trump’s policies, but the results are cherry-picked to make Trump look better. Your word processor’s “helpful” suggestions and AI search results nudge you toward Trump and the GOP’s approved narrative, returning “facts” that support it. You begin to doubt your own memory — after all, this wonderful technology is remembering things differently.

If this seems farfetched, recall that Trump in 2024 — with just his bully pulpit, amplified by Fox News — had convinced over 1/3rd of Americans that Biden’s 2020 win was not legitimate. Imagine what he’ll be able to do to truth with even more influence over the media and tech giants. Keep in mind that to win an election, the GOP doesn’t need to fool everyone — just a few percentage points will probably do the trick.

In theory, digital records offer protection. They can be backed up, distributed, and cryptographically signed. But how robust will those safeguards really be when governments and platforms work in concert? Yes, paper records can be destroyed through book burnings and house searches — history shows us this. At the moment, people (at least in the US) aren’t at risk of government persecution for their private notes, or the physical books and articles they keep.

Start keeping a paper diary. Not necessarily because you’re documenting state secrets, but as a personal reality check — a record of what you actually saw, thought, and believed before the algorithms rewrote yesterday. It’s evidence for your future self, and perhaps for future historians.

“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” — 1984, by George Orwell

In Orwell’s novel, 1984, keeping a diary could result in torture, forced labour, or death. The state viewed it as an act of resistance — because the act of keeping an unmediated record mattered. In an age when software can revise yesterday by lunchtime, ink on paper is a quiet act of civil resistance. For the moment, at least in the United States, it doesn’t bring with it the risk of bodily harm, and it might help you keep your sanity going forward.

If you found this essay helpful, maybe print a copy — because by 2028, the algorithms might not return it in search results.

This essay was originally published on my blog on November 15th. 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/12/18/2358976/-Start-Keeping-a-Paper-Diary

Gen Z: Confessions in the Cloud

From deccanchronicle.com

By Rochelle Crasto

Many youngsters take to digital journaling, but few have the energy and drive to consistently translate their thoughts and emotions into words and write

Earlier, pouring your thoughts and feelings onto paper meant owning a diary — a tangible little book that held your secrets under lock, key, or more realistically, under the bed. But those pages were never truly private. Anyone could stumble upon them. Enter Gen Z, who’s found a sleeker, safer alternative: the Notes app. Password-protected, always within reach, and discreetly tucked behind a screen — it’s the modern diary you don’t have to hide. Your secrets are now just as digital as they are secure.

Earlier, pouring your thoughts and feelings onto paper meant owning a diary — a tangible little book that held your secrets under lock, key, or more realistically, under the bed. (DC)

The After Hours 

This generation has been called many things — anxious, self-aware, over-sharing — but perhaps the most accurate is emotionally literate. They’ve grown up in an age that values mental health conversations, therapy memes, and vulnerability. Digital journaling fits right into that framework. But here’s the thing — after a long day of work, few people have the energy to unpack their emotions, let alone articulate them. Journaling, whether on paper or screen, demands not just honesty but also emotional bandwidth. To write means to process, and processing requires energy that most people don’t have after hours. “I find writing to be quite therapeutic,” says Ayesha Sharma, a senior UI/UX designer. “It’s a form of art, just like design,” she adds.

Maintaining a journal is equally tough. It’s not something our parents teach us to do diligently since birth. Instead, it’s one of those rituals that surfaces during emotionally charged seasons of life. In those moments, writing becomes less about discipline and more about release — a quiet form of distraction, reflection, and de-stressing. “You need to be in the right state of mind if you want to keep your journal alive. It has to be the dedication and the drive to work on yourself and improve for the betterment of your health,” says Dr Shreya Srinivastav, a psychologist.

The Fine Tuning 

There is also the question about effective writing and how much time you should spend at the desk. Platforms like Stoic or Journey are quietly replacing traditional diaries. Why? Because they fit right into the pocket-sized rhythm of our lives. A thought strikes mid-commute? Type it out. A wave of sadness at midnight? Add it to your Notes folder titled “Maybe feelings.” No pens, no pages, no risk of someone finding it under your mattress.

For a generation that broadcasts everything — playlists, selfies, step counts, even Spotify moods — digital journaling offers something radical: privacy. The Notes app is the anti-Instagram. It’s where you say what you really mean, without filters or captions. “There is a sort of peace that you find within words. It’s something that can’t be compared too even if you speak them out loud,” adds Shreya. 

Think of it as the digital equivalent of a whisper — soft, honest, and safe. These digital diaries capture what never makes it online: the ugly crying, the confusion, the little self pep-talks. It's a vulnerability without validation. 

Feelings, But Bite-Sized 

Journaling could be a single line, a short list, or even a fleeting thought typed before bed. There is no need for long paragraphs, no point to be made on purpose and of course, no pressure. 

The beauty of digital journaling lies in its security. Passwords, biometric locks, and Face ID make these private entries feel safer than any paper diary ever could. “Unlike my old journals that my cousin once found,” says Riya Mathew (23), “my Notes app is my fortress. It’s my most honest space.” 

There’s irony, of course. These deeply personal thoughts live on the cloud — vulnerable to data breaches and software updates — yet feel safer than ever before. Maybe safety today isn’t about secrecy; it’s about control. 

The Notes app isn’t just a tool — it’s a mirror. It reflects what’s often left unsaid in group chats and social media posts. And in that reflection, many find clarity. Gen Z may joke about “Notes app apologies” and “Notes app breakdowns,” but underneath the humour lies a profound truth — this is a generation learning to cope through documentation. To write is to release. 

Future Of Feelings 

As journaling apps evolve, AI is slowly stepping in. Platforms now analyse tone, detect emotional patterns, and even suggest prompts like “What are you grateful for today?” or “How did you show resilience this week?” The digital diary is becoming part therapist, part data analyst. 

But while algorithms can detect sadness, they can’t feel it. The essence of journaling — whether in ink or pixels — still lies in the human need to be seen, even if only by ourselves. In a world where everything is shared, digital journaling is the last unshared space. It’s our reminder that some emotions don’t need an audience — just an outlet. 

The Write Approach 

• 8% of people currently keep a journal or diary regularly 

• 22% have kept one in the past (HabitBetter survey) 

• Studies suggest consistent journaling significantly improves mental well-being 

• In a study of online positive-affect journaling, an adherence rate (completing at least one session • per week) was 66.4%. 

• Reports citing up to 25% boost in mood and emotional clarity (Gitnux, 2024) ( Source : Deccan Chronicle )

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/hyderabad-chronicle/confessions-in-the-cloud-1922132

My college diary

From middleburycampus.com

By Christy Liang

“You are a writer. Don’t tell your parents that.” My English advisor, Professor Robert Cohen, told me these words as I sat in his office, talking about my recent turn towards Buddhist thought and how I’ve unclouded my judgment of the outside world over the summer. 

Before college, I knew with an unshakable certainty that I wanted to be a writer. I’d browse through all the creative writing classes and imagine myself in them, enthralled and radiant with enthusiasm. All I wanted to do was turn my wayward feelings and swirling thoughts into words, to press permanence on what is bound to pass. Writing — both personal essays and short stories — always brought me immense joy and helped me establish in clearer, richer terms who I am and who I’d like to be. 

After a couple of lukewarm creative writing workshops at college, however, I found myself drifting away from the idea of writing as a career, or rather, writing as something that can be taught in an academic setting. Words have always come to me from deeply intimate corners of my selfhood, on their own accord or prompted by my overpowering disposition of inward searching. I love the way sentences unfurl like a stream from an unnameable, yet visceral center within me. In brief moments, as I write, the interior and the exterior coalescence. It is quite magical. I feel imbued with an aliveness akin to the feeling of a really good conversation, a long, meditative walk or running through the woods as the sun’s about to set.

Then I realized that writing is a deeply personal act to me. That it matters the most when I feel compelled to write, not towards an audience or to fulfil an academic task, but because my innate striving for meaning distilled from lived experience brings me back to the page, again and again. As a result, I thought I’d start journaling. 

                       Journaling by Lake Dunmore this past weekend.  Photo by Christy Liang | The Middlebury Campus

In late August, I stumbled upon Tao Lin’s My College Diary published in The Paris Review and had an absolute blast reading it. I found it so real, unfiltered, full of laughs and the poignancy of growing up. It captured the chaotic yet ultimately aestheticized tenor of college life so well that I immediately thought of doing something similar. 

For the longest time, I was sceptical about keeping a diary. I thought I’d feel stifled by the banality of writing down what happened, what I ate, or whom I talked to. But Tao Lin showed me something different, that a diary tracks the psychological undertones of your ever-shifting existence, that it could be terribly refreshing to look back on an entry a month, a year, or even a decade ago and think: “Wow that’s how I was feeling.” I  also thought about how these documentations of day-to-day happenings, moods and reflections may inspire future creative projects. 

So, I started journaling and keeping a digital diary simultaneously. I’ve found it to be a deeply centring and affirming act, one that reminds me I can always take root in my interiority, which is, in fact, infinite. To my pleasant surprise, I’ve also found that in these highly personal mediums, my language acquires a special lightness. Unburdened by academic jargon and any intention to impress, I write almost lyrically, with phrases running around like little rabbits on the field. The line between prose and poem often gets straddled; past, present and future converse with one another. Most importantly, what induces fear, anxiety, or sadness becomes invariably tamed after getting channelled out. 

Nothing lasts, after all. We’re just taking a seat in a theatre, watching as experiences happen to us. 

A couple nights ago, I wrote in my journal: “I feel like a thing, a lovely, shifting thing held all around by a porous membrane, floating soundlessly through the theatre of life filled with giggles, sparks of insight, and love ripening through avenues imaginable and beyond.”

May we all be seen and held by something larger, something gentle, something deeply within.

https://www.middleburycampus.com/article/2025/09/my-college-diary 

How to create a multimedia digital journal of your life

From denverpost.com 

Still looking for a New Year’s resolution for self-improvement? Consider keeping a journal, which studies have shown might help with one’s mental well-being and anxiety issues while also providing a creative outlet for personal expression.

Handsome paper-based diaries and notebooks are available if you want to go the screen-free, sensory route, but if you prefer a more multimedia approach to journaling, wake up your phone. Free apps that come with Apple’s iOS software and Google’s Android system allow you to add photos, audio clips and more to corral your thoughts — and set up electronic reminders to write regularly.

Here’s an overview.

Getting started

Keeping a digital diary requires a few basic steps: picking an app, writing an entry and adding new posts on a regular basis. And don’t let the fear of typing long, contemplative dispatches on a small screen dissuade you. Just dictate your thoughts to your iPhone or Android phone with its transcription tools, although check its privacy policy if you’re nervous about your data.

Using Apple’s Journal

Apple released its Journal app in December 2023 and added new features last year in its iOS 18 update, including the ability to print entries. (The app is not yet available for the iPad.) To set it up, just find the Journal icon on your home screen or in the App Library, open it and follow the on-screen instructions.

To compose a journal entry, tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen and select the New Entry button at the top of the next screen or under a suggested topic. Go to the text field to title your entry and start writing — or tap the microphone icon at the bottom corner of the keyboard to dictate.

In the row of icons above the keyboard, you can format the text with bold, italic or other styles; get more topic suggestions; add photos from the library or the camera; add an audio recording; and note your location. You can describe your current mood with the State of Mind screen, which can be shared with the Health app (if you allow it).

With your permission, the app shows you a list of topic suggestions drawn from your photos, locations and activities. You can turn off the suggestions by opening the iPhone’s Settings icon, selecting Apps, choosing Journal and tapping the button next to Skip Journaling Suggestions.

While you’re in the Journal settings, you can set other controls, like requiring Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to unlock it or backing up your entries online to iCloud. You can also set up a schedule for journaling and enable notifications nudging you to write.

You can bookmark and edit your compositions by tapping the three-dot menu icon in each entry’s lower-right corner. The Journal app has a search function for looking up older entries if you don’t feel like scrolling back in time.

Using Google Keep

Google has yet to release a similar dedicated journaling app, but its 12-year-old Google Keep can do the job, organizing notes, audio clips, webpages, photos and drawings. To use it, you need a Google account and the Keep app. The app is available for Android and iOS (including the iPad), and Keep content is backed up online, where it can be viewed in a web browser.

Once you’ve installed the Keep app, open it and tap the plus button (+) in the bottom-right corner to start an entry. Using the icons at the bottom of the text-entry screen allows you to do things like add a photo or give the entry a background colour.

Creating and adding a “journal” label filters your posts from other notes or lists you may use within the app. And while Keep, unlike Apple’s Journal, can’t pepper you with suggestions, you can ask Google’s Gemini or your favourite artificial intelligence assistant for topic ideas.

Other options

Samsung Galaxy users have the Samsung Notes app as another diary option, and keeping a journal on one of the company’s pen-based tablets re-creates the pen-to-paper vibe for the electronic age.

If you want a journal app with additional features (like automatically adding the day’s weather conditions), you have plenty of other choices, but you’ll probably need to pay for the premium product. Among the many apps that work on most platforms are Day One (about $3 a month), Diarium ($10 to buy) and the ambitious, AI-powered Reflectary (about $7 a month).

Journal apps make it easier to write about your life without the performative aspect of social media. And paying less attention to what everyone else is doing gives you more time to spend on yourself.

https://www.denverpost.com/2025/01/25/multimedia-digital-journal-technology-ios-android-self-care/amp/