High Anxiety

gatbsy kitty cat

What makes you most anxious?

One of the things that is making me anxious lately are all these random new bloggers who are sharing my posts and linking back to me. Removing the reblog button used to eliminate this issue, but they seem to have figured out how to do it anyway. Unlike that past bad guy who was simply stealing our words, these new bloggers aren’t doing that. They are properly linking back with only a snippet (and the image) posted at their place. But why? Why are they doing this? My posts are always irrelevant to whatever theme they have, and the really weird thing is that often their main blog doesn’t even seem to exist when you click the icon. So, where, exactly are my posts posted when there is no main page? I guess I could stop answering these Daily Prompt questions and maybe this issue would go away, but I like the questions! Some of them anyway.

I do not allow their linkbacks to appear in my comment section because I don’t want to encourage this practice. I suspect that the only reason these bloggers are reposting stuff from us is to get more traffic, so I’m not going to help them with that. You might have noticed that I pretty much NEVER reblog anything from other bloggers ~ I am not necessarily opposed to it, if it’s done in context, but I prefer not to. Of course, I link to others when appropriate for credit, but except for quoting stuff on Wednesdays, I prefer to keep my blog exclusively for my own jibber-jabber, chitchat, and pointless meandering.

I am going to try not to worry about this, just like I have decided not to worry about all the randos who have begun to follow me since I started answering the Daily Prompts. I used to methodically delete anyone who wasn’t (in my opinion) a real blogger, but it became too onerous a task. So I leave them moldering away on my follower list, and my count is thus a lie like everyone else’s. Before this onslaught of randos, my ratio of views to followers made much more sense. Now it’s completely skewed because none of these marketing bloggers and no-blog followers are interested in actually reading our posts, commenting, interacting, etc.

Other than that, here are some things that make me anxious, in no particular order. Note that these are things I mostly imagine, since I generally avoid experiencing nerve-wracking stuff directly. Flying. Heights. The vastness of the ocean. The vastness of space. Bugs. Parasites. The ever-increasing threat of WW3/ nuclear war. The distinct possibility of the US being taken over by Christian extremists/ white power freaks. Not having enough money in retirement. Identity theft. Scammers. Dangerous drivers. Driving generally. Dealing with anything car-related. People appearing out of the blue to cause an argument or create drama. Being code master in Codenames. Eating too much salt. Gaining weight. The endless nothingness following death. Anything bad happening to my daughters. Gatsby’s eventual demise.

PS: High Anxiety is another one of those films I found hilarious when young and absolutely hated when I tried to rewatch it in my dotage.

~*~
©️2023 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

35 responses to “High Anxiety

  1. Can you do the Daily Prompts without linking back to them? I had a blogger steal one of my posts recently, word for word without giving me any credit. Another blogger told me about this, and I looked at the post and it had no likes or comments, so I wasn’t that upset.

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  2. I’ve only recently started noticing the daily prompts, Paula, and I responded to the previous one about about the thing we lose ourselves in. I noticed a link under the prompt to reply to it, which I clicked, and this added a couple of tags or categories for the post, which I removed. Later, I noticed another link to view all responses, so I’m now wondering if the tags, and clicking that reply option generate the viewers you write about here. I can’t say I’ve noticed any extra views because of the prompt, but maybe I’ve responded in the wrong way. 🤔
    I think next time I see a prompt, I shall just create a new post based on it, and not use the reply option.
    Sorry for waffling on here… and I hope some of those things you list that make you feel anxious become easier for you in the quickest of times. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  3. I have had to turn on approve comments now on my blog as there seems to be so much spam about now. It’s frustrating for those taking part in the #writephoto prompt as they may think their link hasn’t worked but I don’t think there’s any other way to manage these pesky scammees. I do reblog #writephoto participants work (when time available) but always credit the wonderful writers. KL ❤️

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  4. I’ve had a few of my posts reblogged on other sites with no intro or explanation for their reason. It’s credited to pensitivity101 when you read it, but I delete the links in my comments as you do Paula.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Avigail (Hineini…I’m here)

    I’ve had the unrelated reblog you describe happen a couple times on a different blogs I’ve had over the years on WP. Not sure what the point is.

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  6. They don’t have anything to say — and the probably think whatever YOU said is better than whatever they could say. I reblog when someone has made a point that I was going to make, but I think they’ve done a good job, so there’s no reason for me to say the same think — so I reblog their post.

    I did this a lot more when everything was totally political. I couldn’t bring myself to write all that. Reblogging was easier on my nerves. I also repost articles with science where they have done all the research. OR because it’s a poem I like and I am NOT a poet. But I don’t do it often and I certainly don’t sit and wait for someone to post something. I have a couple of people who do that here and there doesn’t seem to be a way to stop them. I’ve tried and failed MANY times. It’s aggravating.

    I wish WP would fix it because it has been a problem for many years. Also, you can block an individual, but you can’t prevent anyone or anything (think BOTS) from following you. I tried to delete them and eventually realized it was hopeless. WordPress is a wide open platform. Too wide. Too open.

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  7. The people you get to know over the years always ask first, unfortunately it’s going a bit rouge outside that bubble.

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  8. I feel like ““Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” fits here?

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  9. There are a few new bloggers doing that and I usually ignore them.

    Liked by 3 people

  10. Somebody managed to reboot 10 of my posts before I got around to turning off that feature. I’m quite possessive about my blog and I like to be the one to decide when and where.

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  11. I’m with you, Paula. There are a couple of bloggers that hitch a ride using my posts that I tolerate. However, with that said, it’s annoying when I don’t recognize the bloggers and the useless sharing seems to be growing.

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  12. I don’t mind the re blogging, if it is from the word prompt, but when it is random, not so much.

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  13. I don’t do those daily prompts and I still get those links, Paula, and I don’t like them either. Like you said, they’re doing it to get more traffic. After 11 years of blogging, I don’t do that anymore. I have my core group who I follow and that’s all I care to do, unless I meet someone new through a friend.
    As to your anxiety list, holy guacamole! I feel the same with some of them, and since spring is around the corner for us, a few spiders have already come out to say hello. Last spring they were more abundant and I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. 😬 Just when I think my fear is calming, they spring out of nowhere and surprise the heck out of me. Sigh. Well, just don’t forget to breathe and I’ll do the same. 💞

    Liked by 3 people

  14. No worries. I just followed because I found your blog interesting and enjoy reading other people’s work. I won’t repost anything. ☺️

    Liked by 3 people

  15. Cat eyes unbelievable ☣️

    Liked by 3 people

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