Powering Down

I have become what I loathe. Last night I found myself in the middle of girls night with a strong case of Twitter-itch. Not to be confused with jock-itch. I could blame it on my lack of dinner and a bit of wine but really it has more to do with my affliction known as Twitter addiction.

I like me some social media and networking, I do.

Symptoms include:

-Wanting, scratch that, “needing” to check Twitter about every 2.5 seconds. If I can’t. It’s a big FAIL.

-Believing with all my black heart that UberTwitter is quite possibly the prettiest symbol to don my Blackberry screen. I can extol the virtues of UberTwitter to total strangers. A ‘squee’ is usually involved.

-The need to be ‘in the know’ is always at the forefront of my mind. However, all I end up knowing is what is happening on Twitter, that Jon&Kate (a show I don’t even watch) are feuding again courtesy of Mamapop and a bunch of other nonsense that no one cares about except about four other bloggers. It’s pretty futile and I’m quite sure it makes me a dork.

I could go on but my attention span and writing capabilities are almost nil due to Twitters 140 character limit. Facebook now just makes me cranky. Network Blog um, thingies exhaust me. I’m a member of like ninety bazillion now.

So here is the thing. Starting Monday I will be powering down and logging off from all this stuff and focusing on the quiet. Silence. I will revisit what actually goes on in my brain and the world around me. I think that the idea of hearing my dishwasher hum and the birds outside beats the sounds of Speidi. I’ll only use Twitter to send out my posts and other work-related writings. There will be no blog networking sites. No Facebooking. No DVR on while an audio book plays on the CD player and trying to read work emails while sitting in the school car line. I’ll read. I’ll listen. In ‘powering down’ I think I’ll not only clear my mind but also find I can use it more effectively. Maybe I will actually want to write again.

Either that or I’ll crack from the lack of “news” and run crying and gasping for my Tweets declaring my love for you all in 140 characters or less. I’ll wager that Facebook will still make me cranky though.

If you want to join me in this week-long challenge. Well, go right ahead. #silence.

Comments

  1. says

    I'm in (she writes with shaky fingers). I do need to check mail and work (and writing a blog post here or there would be nice) but no social networking. Does this start Sunday or Monday?

  2. says

    This is a 21st century problem. It is becoming more and more addicting as we are connected with each other all the time. Every little thought suddenly becomes twitterable. In a way it is a great to get feedback. On the other hand, are we all going to eventually stop thinking for ourselves and rely on a twitter consensus for all our answers?

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