Withdrawal

Un-social media. Can I make the break? Can I withdraw?

I did it with television, but can it do it with social media? Can I break the habit of going to the computer with my coffee every morning thinking someone has sent me a thought or a message or a link and I must respond immediately?

I will clarify that I do not Tweet or stream or Skype or even use a Smartphone and have limited sites that I go to, but I realize the computer is on all the time. I appear to be binging.

Am I so bored that I constantly scroll through pictures of babies and kittens and drunken folks I don’t know while hoping to find the latest news or some creative idea or an interesting factoid?

Obviously I am guilty as charged.

As with television, I fell into the habit of the ‘Today’ show first thing in the morning and following a routine of programs that wasted my time. I could excuse my addiction by saying “I’m multi-tasking” but I’m watching the computer screen while watching the television screen and listening to the radio. Where is my focus?

To begin with my quest, I went through my list of “Friends”. Who are these people? Do I ever hear from them? If I comment on their post do they ever respond? Time to clean the closet.

Next is to clean the clutter of links. It was so easy to bookmark all sorts of places that were only visited rarely and could be found again if necessary. This action also cuts out much of the spam emails.

Will this cut out my junkie addiction to trying to be liked and accepted by people I have not seen face-to-face in years? Old work mates I didn’t know that well then or school chums from before puberty are so overwhelming my life with their chatter?

Now I do appreciate social media of staying in touch but just like neighbors, there is only so much I need to know. Wherever you are and whatever you are eating really is not that important. Cute photos of your kids or your pets or your spouse looking silly are filler.

As in a face-to-face conversation do we need to check our phones or is it just not worth the separation?

Can I man up and withdraw in time?

Not a big fan of protection during my potent years, I paid the price (literally and emotionally) for withdrawal and the consequences. Withdrawal is more difficult than it seems.

Can I detoxify without knowing who is getting married or seeing the latest photo of a sunrise/sunset? Will you email me your complaints or just post your irritations on Facebook? Can I rationally decide who to vote for without the constant bickering and rude behavior?

Just take a breath and shut down. The email will still be there tomorrow. The thread of social silliness will be even faster to scroll through in the morning without the need for your comment or review.

What will be next?