I’ve been pondering this post for awhile. I love networking. I really do. Which is why I’ve been an early adopter for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like. But frankly I’m finding myself more and more fed up with these social networks and current state of social networking.
Why am I fed up? There are three basic reasons.
1. Too distracting!
2. Too polemical!
3. Too consuming!
So what am I going to do about it? I’m going to spend the month of December pondering the place of social media in my life. The specific proposition that I’m considering is something of a social experiment.
What would my life and ministry look like if I abstained from social media (specifically Facebook & Twitter) for one year? The WF has a wonderful new intern (Bethany Daniel) who will become queen of WF social media communications, so that arena will still function in my absence.
I’m hoping I will be able to write more (blogs, articles, book?). I’m hoping to be less distracted, more present, less polemical, more nuanced, less consumed, more discerning.
Can I do it? Is it even possible to function in 21st century society without accessing Facebook? Sure, I could do away with all digital media, like I do for one month a year. But can I still email, text, and blog without utilizing explicit social software? How will it effect our ministry with college students?
I’ll be considering all that and my reasons for quitting during this month. I’d love feedback too, because while I question the veracity of social media I still value being social.
since you inspired me to take the month of october off from SM, i thought i’d voice my agreement on all 3 points…even if i’m part of the polemical “problem.”
one thing that helped me a great deal in the last few weeks has been the use of a Mac application called SelfControl. here’s a link:
https://github.com/slambert/selfcontrol/wiki
it stops the flow of email and web sites of your choosing for a set amount of time that you decide. there is no app for mobile devices aside from the off button
i have found this little app to be very helpful. i set it for 1 hour at a time, and it stops me from checking facebook and twitter, stops email from coming in, and i can just focus on what i need to do. when the hour is up, i give myself 5-10 minutes, and then it’s back to work. for a self-employed person like me it’s really useful.