The End of Silence

Last week I conducted a little bit of an experiment. I took myself out of the world of forever Twittering, using Facebook and the rest of the 24/7 social media frenzy. I used it for only work purposes and that was that. I did it because I wanted to see if I noticed a difference in myself and how my week played out via work and with family.

Here's what I noticed-

Initially, it wasn't that hard to cut myself off from Twitter. I still posted items for work but I didn't 140 character it up all through the day.

I got annoyed when people made fun of me for doing this whole #week of silence. Or when they called me to ask why I was still blogging. Um...work. Gah.

By the middle of the week I felt like I was missing out on things. I missed my friends who I talk to through Twitter and know IRL (that's 'in real life'). That's how we communicate. Email just doesn't work for us that often.

I read more blogs and diversified.

I felt less scattered and was able to concentrate on what was going on around me more. I can't say I got more accomplished because I was really sick all week and dealing with a sick baby too. I had no energy and quite frankly, the break from the Internet was just what my tired, sick body and brain needed.

I read more and absorbed more of what I was reading too. Yes, really. That stack of papers and magazines that piles up on my sideboard was gone by the middle of the week. I felt more informed and not about what Britney Spears.

I'm sure there is more, the week was sort of a mess with all the sickness that was involved, the never-ending rain and overall crankiness that all that can bring on. While I'm back on, I definitely saw the benefits of taking a break from everything for a while. Stepping away from it all always opens up my creativity and leaves me feeling calmer. It's worth doing and I know I will again in the future.

Got a case of Twitter Twitches?

Yesterday, Day 1 in my 'week of silence' turned out to be better than I thought. The fact that The Comedian, H and I are all down for the count with a horrific phlegm-producing monster that destroys tissues in a nanosecond is probably the reason. When your nose is on fire, dripping like a hose and your whole body feels like it was an extra on Night of the Living Dead, well, being offline isn't too difficult.

I had my moments though.

7 a.m. - I put up my blog post and that was all. I didn't even check my work email. I felt so proud but the feeling was fleeting when I owned up to the fact that I could just as easily grab my phone to check my email. Also? I felt like I had been hit by a maniacal Thomas the Train. So there's that.

8:45 a.m.- Normally I am in the car line at TD's school doing the whole drop-off thing. We have our own "moment of silence" each morning as I read tweets and check my emails. The radio is blaring and I'm already in multi-media mode frenzy. Being sick, excused me from this as H did the depositing of the dictator.

9:30 a.m.- "Isn't Kristen supposed to be on CNN today?" I muse aloud. I should check. On Twitter. Like every five seconds. GAH! I can't! A few seconds later I think, "No one would know..." My precious no social media veneer has a crack in it. If I don't actually tweet then who is to know if I'm still trolling twitter. "BWAHAHAHA!"

10:00 a.m.- Realize I am now compelled to turn the volume on the TV to even numbers just like H. It is no longer fun to tease him with odd number decibels. My life is in shambles. "You people are morons!" H and I yell at a news story on CNN, which is about getting multiple opinions when you try to pawn something. Turns out not everyone is giving you an honest answer. Wow. Just, um, wow. This is news?

12 p.m.- Kristen has come and gone on CNN. I've only used Twitter for good (read: work posts) and not snarky or banal comments about the state of my neighbors lawn. I have not even opened Facebook.

As the day wears on, it does become a bit harder to control my urge to just pick up my phone and tweet away or check out what my third grade arch nemesis is doing on Facebook. I did listen to NPR while making dinner. The sound of whining and coughing had to be drowned out. I was sick of listening to myself after all. Oddly enough, I found the urge to check and play with my phone came in the moments while I was waiting for something to happen. Like the microwave to be done well, microwaving something. I couldn't just be. I had to be doing something. Waiting for twenty seconds with my own thoughts has become difficult. Quite frankly, that is freaky.

Here is what I noticed after only one day. I did in some small way feel like I was missing my friends and how their days were going. However, I also managed to read three quarters of my brand new Marie Clare magazine in one sitting because I wasn't busy watching TV, playing with my phone or my computer all at the same time. Could it be that in another day my brain will slow down a bit and iron itself out into more cohesive thoughts?