As an introvert, smoking gave me instant rapport with other smokers. Although I lost that community when I quit smoking, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. I was amazed by that. But, if you smoke a pack a day and each cig takes 3 minutes or so, that’s an hour. (I did the math for you.) We fritter time away in small chunks. Since I stopped using Twitter and Facebook, I already have time on my hands.
Using Twitter and Facebook, I’ve come to see myself as a mouse tapping the bar, waiting for a pellet to drop out, over and over again. Sometimes there’s a yummy morsel — more often, there is not. No offense to everyone who thinks their morsel is so yummy. I’m tired of pushing the bar every few seconds. I want those seconds to add up to something more than "is that all there is?"
I’m especially frustrated that Twitbook promotes ADHD and memory loss. Name one tweet or status update that really stuck with you yesterday. Can you? How about last week? How many times have you puzzled over what someone meant in 140 characters or less? How many links have you followed that left you shrugging? Attention is a limited resource. Spend your time on beauty, wonder, laughter, and love. In the real world.
I’ll continue to feed my own pellets into the pipe. I like to write. You don’t have to read or respond, if it seems unfair to you. I’ll offer you a deal: if I would follow you on Twitbook and you have a blog, I’ll subscribe to your blog. If you want me to know something, send me email. I’m still interested in you, just not in wasting precious attention.
- www.edgewiseblog.com [a blog collective]
- www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/ [you are here]
- www.photosbymjh.com
- www.poemsbymjh.com
- www.ahwilderness.com [Four Corners]
- www.mjhinton.com/help [computer topics]