Tuesday, May 29, 2012

the social medias

Come to find out, I have absolutely no idea how to handle/manage/deal with social media.

As many, if not all, of you know, I fancy the Facebook and the Twitter and the adding on of unnecessary articles. (THE!) But as some, if not a fair amount, of you know, these little known sites have caused little problems here and there in my everyday life; namely, they take up way too much fucking time and I feel like I have to keep up with this "online persona" and that feeling gives me great distress and oh yeah, I have a whole fucking awesome library that I've completely neglected because I am too busy reblogging funny photos from the 90s and drunkenly confessing everything in under 140 characters and liking more and more status updates from people I know less and less and ultimately driving myself perfectly insane in this perfect un-reality I've created.

So.

So I'm going to do what every privileged white American gal does and exclaim, "I'm taking a break! Taking a break from Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr and Instagram and maybe even Blogger! I'm going to rediscover myself and get into yoga and tea and poetry and modern art! And cooking! I'm going to do everything outside, too! In the fresh spring air! On a blanket! In a park! Without shoes!" And maybe I will. For a few days. But I'll be back - and you know what? That's okay. I am a "terrible" Buddhist, but if there's one thing I understand about Buddhist teachings, it's that the middle path is usually not an awful path to travel.

It is about rediscovering not only myself, but about rediscovering balance. I know I have said something pretty much identical to this before, I apologize for being redundant. No! Wait! I need to stop apologizing, too. Let me, oh dear Buddha Santa Christ Child Heavenly Pagan Moon Goddess, relax. Let me feel fearless (but let me also feel and recognize and explore fear). Let me find what inspires me and hold on to it - until it's time to let go. And there is always a time to let go.

Okay, so I still want to write. I do not think I will ever take an intentional break from Blogger. I believe the "confessional" aspects of blogging have been overall healthy for me. Baring myself and allowing myself to be vulnerable for literally the entire world is perversely therapeutic.

I still love you. I still love social media and feel like it is so super damn interesting and outrageously influential around the globe. I don't think we've even realized yet the impact it has had on our language and communication. Point is, I don't hate Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Far from it. I kinda hate, though, that it has caused me to ignore the quieter, slower things in life. It might be idealistic of me to say, but I hope that when I return from my social media sabbatical, I will have a new perspective and respect for myself and others. I also hope I will have written. A lot. By hand. In gorgeous notebooks with silky pens.

Time to stare at a tree without an Instagram filter.

2 comments:

Heather Petersen said...

I agree with this so much. LET'S TAKE A BREAK AT THE SAME TIME.

Actually, I'm sure I'm one of those people you know less and less via facebook, but it doesn't have to be that way forever! We could be hiking next week even! OR TODAY.

You are cool.

meg said...

Oh! You are really cool and nice and we should be real life friends. To my surprise, social interaction is actually kind of an important thing. And healthy!