I've noticed, and read quite a bit about, the way that my internet habits affect my ability to pay attention. I'm definitely not opposed to social media. I've used Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for years. I love Instagram for the photo updates of family members near and far, and gorgeous pics from National Geographic, NASA, and others. I love Facebook because so many of my friends use it, and because I'm a member of three groups that are based there.
And Twitter-- I have a complete love-hate relationship with Twitter. Every time I get so weighed down by the negativity that I'm ready to quit, some hashtag starts trending and the exuberant creativity of the responses reminds me of why I love human beings. Like #ruinThanksgivinginfourwords, or my all-time favorite, #ruinabooktitleinoneletter, or the currently trending, surprisingly sincere #sixwordcommitment, which people are using to express their hopes for the new year.
(You didn't ask, but my two responses to #sixwordcommitment are "I will accomplish small things daily" and "more joy and better quality food")(and lord, don't even get me started on #ruinabooktitleinoneletter. I spent hours on that one, and was still thinking them up days later, long after it had ceased to be a thing.)
So I'm not here to gripe about social media. But on the other hand, I have noticed that I can't concentrate anymore. I'll sit down to read a book, and even if it's a really good book, ten minutes into it I find myself picking up my phone to see what's happening online. There is no conscious thought involved-- I'll be several minutes into scrolling before I even realize I've done it.
This is disturbing to me. I feel like I've lost control of my brain. So I'm trying an experiment. I want to find out what happens if I quit for awhile. Will my attention span come back? Is it ruined forever? It's entirely possible that this is just age-related and has nothing to do with social media. I want to find out.
I'm starting with just a week, hoping to extend that to a month. I'm still figuring out exactly what my rules are. I can't stay completely offline or ditch my smart phone, because my work is web-based, and my kids and I, and my mom and my sisters and I, communicate via texting all week long. I like the rule (guideline!) suggested in the article I linked to at the end of the last post: no internet from bedtime until noon the next day. How lovely to wake up to something besides scrolling through the news.
So I deleted all the news and social media apps from my phone for starters. I've avoided Facebook before for weeks at a time, so I don't anticipate this being a problem. I'm just not sure what the result will be.
This blog will also be affected. I will be posting by email instead of using the web-based version. The web-based version doesn't allow me to screen out the social media aspects of blogging. Emailing posts means that I can't schedule them—they will post as soon as I email them—and I won't be able to check the formatting, so apologies in advance if it looks wacky. Also I won't be able to see comments, but I can respond to them when I get back.
Oddly enough, there were a few social media things I was going to do tonight before this started, but our internet went down about an hour ago and there's no sign of its return. I've already deleted the apps from my phone so I can't do anything over cell. I guess it starts now.
And Twitter-- I have a complete love-hate relationship with Twitter. Every time I get so weighed down by the negativity that I'm ready to quit, some hashtag starts trending and the exuberant creativity of the responses reminds me of why I love human beings. Like #ruinThanksgivinginfourwords, or my all-time favorite, #ruinabooktitleinoneletter, or the currently trending, surprisingly sincere #sixwordcommitment, which people are using to express their hopes for the new year.
(You didn't ask, but my two responses to #sixwordcommitment are "I will accomplish small things daily" and "more joy and better quality food")(and lord, don't even get me started on #ruinabooktitleinoneletter. I spent hours on that one, and was still thinking them up days later, long after it had ceased to be a thing.)
So I'm not here to gripe about social media. But on the other hand, I have noticed that I can't concentrate anymore. I'll sit down to read a book, and even if it's a really good book, ten minutes into it I find myself picking up my phone to see what's happening online. There is no conscious thought involved-- I'll be several minutes into scrolling before I even realize I've done it.
This is disturbing to me. I feel like I've lost control of my brain. So I'm trying an experiment. I want to find out what happens if I quit for awhile. Will my attention span come back? Is it ruined forever? It's entirely possible that this is just age-related and has nothing to do with social media. I want to find out.
I'm starting with just a week, hoping to extend that to a month. I'm still figuring out exactly what my rules are. I can't stay completely offline or ditch my smart phone, because my work is web-based, and my kids and I, and my mom and my sisters and I, communicate via texting all week long. I like the rule (guideline!) suggested in the article I linked to at the end of the last post: no internet from bedtime until noon the next day. How lovely to wake up to something besides scrolling through the news.
So I deleted all the news and social media apps from my phone for starters. I've avoided Facebook before for weeks at a time, so I don't anticipate this being a problem. I'm just not sure what the result will be.
This blog will also be affected. I will be posting by email instead of using the web-based version. The web-based version doesn't allow me to screen out the social media aspects of blogging. Emailing posts means that I can't schedule them—they will post as soon as I email them—and I won't be able to check the formatting, so apologies in advance if it looks wacky. Also I won't be able to see comments, but I can respond to them when I get back.
Oddly enough, there were a few social media things I was going to do tonight before this started, but our internet went down about an hour ago and there's no sign of its return. I've already deleted the apps from my phone so I can't do anything over cell. I guess it starts now.
(Posted via email over cell)
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