Reporting from the Field: My Social Media (and News) Fast Is Done
I'm baaaaaack!
Social media fast = officially over.
Like most things in life, it was a mixed experience. An emotional cocktail with hints of blessed silence, a dash of itchy irritability, stirred up with huge doses of smugness, disorientation, and disconnection AND connection - both internal and external.
Traveling different pathways lets me view things from new vantage points, and I suspect I'll continue to percolate on my learnings as I reintegrate into the digital world. For now, here are some of my reflections:
There are good reasons to gather online. I came back online to post inside some groups, both for professional reasons and personal ones. Sometimes showing up and being present for things that matter is more important than digging into social and political stances.
It's supremely noisy online. My personal filters get worn down easily, and as Van Jones said beautifully in this interview with Tami Simon, it's okay to stretch myself.
I'm mindful of how much I consume for entertainment's purpose online. One of my recent intentions is to put more of my focus on my creation rather than my consumption. I'm not a purist by any means, but I'd like the balance to tip more toward creation.
It's really hard to discuss online behavior without being sanctimonious.
I used this experiment and my own internal wrestling about the role of social media and news in my life and in the world and the place I want to drive toward - I used it to distract myself from my substantive inner work and acts of creation, particularly with my business. As Steven Pressfield says,
“Resistance is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generated and self-perpetuated. resistance is the enemy within.”
My resistance - my fear - decided that this question of whether I could morally and healthily participate in the online world was a handy distraction from doing work that really matters to me. So, I'm setting down this question and turning towards substantive work for myself. I just rebuilt my website, and I'm putting together some other tools that I want to use with my clients in the coming months. So, yes, I'm baaaaack - in more ways than one.
And let me tell you, I wasted no time posting kitten and cat photos. Because isn't that really what the internet - and life - is all about?