it's a weird time right now. for those that know me (or at least who've spoken to me recently), you'll know what i mean by this.
but something else has happened. i've started to fall out of love with the internet. or at least with social networking sites.
tonight i updated my status on facebook to say i'd be deleting my account and for any friends who actually want to see me or get in touch properly to text me or e-mail and then i can arrange to meet up with them. i have considered leaving facebook *many* times before but haven't because i felt it was helping me stay in touch with friends in cyprus, york, norway, switzerland etc (you guys know who you are). but it's a fake staying in touch. because it means i actually e-mail / speak to / visit them less as i feel i know what they're up to in life as i've seen what they're up to on facebook. madness.
then there's twitter. now don't get me wrong, i think twitter is a really fabulous resource. i've seen how new parents, small business owners, knitters (to name a few) take advantage of this platform. and i have loved my time on twitter. i've also met some great people in real life through it and plan to meet some more (in bristol and london). the list of people on twitter i wish lived in bristol is actually quite long - it's you guys who i chat to most - you know who you are. we've exchanged DMs or e-mails or i've #ff'd you many a time. plus it's been truly inspiring for my knitting.
but recently (actually, it's not that recent, it's been building up for some time), i feel like the internet is an unhealthy place. it makes me lazy at keeping in touch with my real mates as often as i should (and want to). and i spend far too much time on it. i tried a brief internet 'diet' and felt stressed i'd miss what people were up to or that i wouldn't be around to respond to their impending news (baby about to be born, close family member about to pass away). earlier this evening i did a huge cull of people i follow. and i felt guilty! guilty for unfollowing people i rarely speak to on twitter, have never met in real life and never will do. crazy!
then onto blogging, i'm not sure about this one. i only blog when i feel the urge. i never schedule posts or set myself targets (other than taking one photo a day for my flickr 365 project which i'm (kind of) enjoying). i have culled my google reader list too so i now read less blogs. i may stop blogging altogether but i think that's unlikely. i enjoy it, find it calming in a weird way and, most of all, find it a very pleasing way to log my thoughts and projects. like an online diary but not too personal.
i am planning to sell some of my knitted goods in the near future and i may set up a twitter account, facebook page and blog to promote this separately. or i may just decide to continue taking commissions and then sell a whole load of stuff at a market twice yearly. but i won't be tied to the internet to make the most of my knitting business if i don't want to be since that would take the pleasure out of knitting, which would be the most upsetting thing of all...
I know exactly what you mean. I met up with some friends recently and one of them said 'I went to see Paul Weller the other night' and we were all ' Yes I know - we saw it on facebook. Or 'I went for dinner at so and so - yes we know. You tweeted about it.' I think it can damage conversations and catch ups. I very very rarely go on FB but like you I use it for keeping in touch with people who live abroad.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about blogging is being able to dip in and out. I enjoy yours for the pretty pictures and the Bristol references and knitting but you know, it is probably unlikely we will ever meet. But that doesn't matter I think. I really wish you all the best with all your projects.
i know what u mean and often feel the same....
ReplyDeleteupdate - i deleted my facebook account this morning and it feels good. i've already made plans to meet knitters in london (who i've met through twitter) and have contacted some real life friends who i hadn't been in touch with for a while. it's working :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, much of which I agree with. I have deliberated over deleting my Facebook presence on many occasions (often daily). I still haven't done it but am ever edging closer to it.
ReplyDeleteAs for Twitter, it has become less an on-line social networking site for me (although it is still very much that) than a mechanism to meet people (in real life) and maintain contact with them. In fact my social life has increased dramatically because of it.
But there are days when I could really do without it, and that almost magnetic pull it has on my attention and time, even when nothing much is going on.
Well done on acting upon your instincts and going for it. Enjoy!
@alison - i thought we might meet if i moved to brighton, which is why i started following you. but you're right, it doesn't necessarily matter.
ReplyDelete@elisa - do it! i have zero regrets about leaving facebook and you can always re-join if you get withdrawal symptoms. it just suspends your account rather than deleting it entirely.
@jose - see my message to elisa above. if you regret it (which i bet you won't), you can always re-activate your account. i am enjoying twitter much more now after a large cull and have made even more efforts to meet virtual friends in real life so it's all positive so far.
thanks all for your comments, nancy x