I think that what options one have in life depends one where you are in life and what choices you have made in the past. A friend of mine said it like this: “When you decided to take out a student loan in your early 20s, you know what you’ll have to do in your 30s and 40s: Pay the student loan back!”

I’m not implying that you are in a miserable state because you have turned 30! If you understood me it that way it was not my intention. Looking back on my last six years I could say that I’ve undergone some sort of midlife crisis, but that doesn’t mean that I was depressed or something like that (and I’m not now either …). It just means that I’ve become older and wiser … For me it’s only in retrospect I can say what really happened to me. I didn’t realise it when it happened (to little self-reflection at the time …). Maybe we should stop talking about crisis when it’s just that we go from one phase in life to another?

Thanks for the kind words on the Nordic countries. I don’t think we in Norway really appreciate how lucky we are sometimes. Norwegians also complain a lot about their own country!

Oh, I don’t mind turning 30 and I’m optimistic, it’s just weird constantly feeling a bit trapped by the options I have. Perhaps I’d have loved communism.

As for wanting to be like the Brits, I think that the Nordic countries have got so much on us in terms of quality of life and welfare for citizens. It always seems quite obvious when I head that way that life seems more agreeable!

Identity is a complicated concept to grasp, even for social scientists (they even make it worse sometime …), and identity in today’s post-modern world is quite different and more complex than just say 50 years ago.

When getting or choosing an identity you also risk getting labelled or put into a box that doesn’t fit you. That’s also the case when you view other people and their identities: You view them from your point of view. To really see that other person for what he really is, and not to see your own value judgement, should be a goal for everyone.

About the 1/3 crisis and other crises: Maybe we should be more aware of possibilities than problems and crisis when turning 30 or 40, or whatever is happening to us. Positive thinking is underrated! And turning 30 is wonderful (been there, done that …)!

You are absolutely right when you say that online we can edit ourselves. I forgot that for a moment …

About the Life in Norway blog: Yes, I’m quite curious … As a sociologist I find many things in society interesting, among them various national identities, especially in Europe.

About Britain: I think that most Norwegians feel quite close to Britain culturally. We are closer to Britain than to Germany, I would say. Maybe we just want to be like you Brits?

When I was writing my posts I was considering how a lot of what I was writing, and a lot of what I was typing/deleting and so on was contradictory. I think that could be a big thing about identity, that nothing is straightforward. I mentioned about identifying as an indie kid (this connects to Gee’s writing on affinity spaces) but indie as a concept is really wide-ranging, though it’s generally accepted to be skinny boys with guitars because I suppose we all want/need to pigeon hole things so we can understand it. And maybe people pigeon hole identities and personalities to understand people better. I’m often labelled as weird – normally from people who don’t take the time to get to know me.

I thought I invented the 1/3 life crisis but no, the Daily “Hate” Mail has an article on it here and for me it is about the possibilities of life, and how maybe I’m not making the right choices. I don’t know what I can actually do differently though!!

Online we can edit ourselves. Facebook, blogs, twitter, and the lot allows us to filter out the bits we don’t want people to hear or see. In real life, we always have those moments when we say something and wish we could take it back. The internet, on the whole, allows us to do it.

It’s interesting what you write about Life in Norway. I think maybe you’re just more curious than most! I read travel guides about Britain from other countries, and i’m always fascinated to hear about people’s impressions or expectations of what Britain is like. People in Britain always seem to complain about the country, and forget lots of the good things about it!

I find it difficult to talk about identity in the singular form, as if there can be only one overarching label that can define one person. Identity becomes meaningful to me when talking about the many identities of an individual, and how some of these identities may be in conflict with each other. However, it’s not so that a person can just pick and choose any identities he wants. This is for me a very simplistic view on how social life works.

I find it very interesting what you write about identity in social media. The idea that we act and interact differently within social media than “in the real world” is fascinating, but sometimes the similarities between these two worlds are under-communicated. Whether we are communicating within social media or “in the real world”, aren’t we just trying to give the best possible impression of ourselves?

How you view your own identities also depends on where you are in life. Your view on life is different than mine because you’re undergoing your 1/3 life crisis and I’m undergoing my midlife crisis (suffering in silence …)! (Funny: I haven’t heard about the 1/3 life crisis as we in Norway only have the midlife crisis …).

This brings me back to self-reflection again: Whatever happens in life, you’ll have to reflect on what’s happening in order to cope with it. Constructive self-reflection will in turn strengthen your identities, hopefully. And get you thru the 1/3 life crisis … and make you a better teacher, a better writer etc.

Finally about your friend David’s blog: http://www.lifeinnorway.net/. As a native Norwegian I find it very interesting to read about this British guy’s experiences living in Oslo! It’s interesting to get an insight in how foreigners view Norway. His writings are insightful and he doesn’t have a typical tourist view on Norway (Vikings, fjords etc.). In fact, David’s writings makes me self-reflect on my Norwegian identity! This shows that your identities are also formed by the people and society around you. Developing your own identities isn’t just a personal journey but also a social process.

wobblelikejelly
does paddy doherty pay tax
holkham hall

The weirdest one?

wobble like a whore in a heap of apples

Who would ever search for that?

You’re right about SEO and bad websites. I often find myself on websites that exist for those who make a misspelling and end up on a website that is just a bunch of adverts. It is really frustrating that people bother with that sort of thing. In fact, this website domain was an advertising page for about a year after I didn’t renew the name!

Btw, you do mention the choclaterie a fair bit, and you are of course the number 1 Oslo hipster!

I’m creating a brand for the site to distinguish it from my own identity – by changing the name (from Diary of David to Life in Norway) and creating a separate Twitter account, amongst other things.

I have many comments on SEO and how it’s used, but not for here. Just to say, SEO can only really benefit a site if there is useful or interesting content there in the first place, whether it’s personal, business, or somewhere in between. If it’s crap, it doesn’t matter how many pairs of eyeballs see it, they won’t stick around. In addition to SEO, I also analyse the search terms people use when they end up on my site from Google. “Life in Norway” is the expected leader, but “Oslo chocolaterie” and “Oslo hipsters” are a surprising 2 and 3. Go figure.

Anyway back to the topic of identity, I found myself becoming uncomfortable very quickly with the number of strangers reading about my life. It was a useful experience though, as I’ve since addressed how and what I share on Facebook and Twitter.