So how was Digital Down Day? It wasn’t earth shattering. I didn’t emerge a new woman. Actually, it was a little annoying. Throughout the day I wanted to hop on the internet, but not because I can’t live without it and I think my loyal tweeps will miss me. I wanted to be on it for the convenience of it all. I connect with people and businesses online because it’s easy. I become part of online communities because it’s easy. I get involved because it’s easy.
Besides being easy, I realized that about halfway through the workday I needed the interruption from being on social media. Social media gave me the mini-mental breaks I needed to remain productive. Each break gave me a few minutes to exhaust my ADHD tendencies between projects, which gave me increased focus when I was working.
So, are you curious just how much I use and think about social media in a day (specifically when I can’t use it)? Take a look*…
6:00AM- I wake up ready for Digital Down Day. Hoorah!
6:07AM- I stare longingly at my iPad and wonder what’s happening in the Twitterverse
6:28AM- My iPad just called my name. I swear I heard it.
6:40AM- No one will know if I peek right…?
7:58AM- Listening to NPR, they discuss politicians on social media- I can’t go investigate
8:37AM- It may or may not be my friend’s birthday. The only ways to confirm this are to call her (awkward) or check Facebook.
9:18AM- It is #FridayReads on Twitter which I religiously participate in and look forward to… I am missing out on posting my book review to this community of fellow bookworms and finding a new book to read next week
10:26AM- Remembered I need an oil change… I wish I could tweet @SullivanTire to get a coupon
11:17AM- Heard a commercial on the radio that was interesting; they directed me to their website for more information…
12:26 PM- Go to Dunkins for an iced tea and they screw up my order for the 4th time in a month. Want to angrily tweet @DunkinDonuts to let out frustration. Peach iced tea and peach iced coffee are not nearly the same.
1:42PM- My brain has transformed into something that resembles a fried egg. I am burnt out.
2:36PM- Hover mouse over the TweetDeck icon on my computer as I have an epic battle of will. Decide the guilt is too much to bear if I cheat
5:00PM- WEEKEND!!! I can’t go online to see if there is anything interesting going on in the area.
5:40PM- Got a bill that I had a question about, tried to call customer service, waited on hold for ever only to be answered by… an automated system. Apparently screaming into the phone “I WANT A REAL PERSON!!!” accomplishes nothing. Wish I could go tweet @AskCiti- I get better customer service online.
6:39PM- Made a delicious dinner with a recipe I got from a vegan chef in Texas whom I met on Twitter. Wish I could tweet him to tell him it was awesome. Thanks @Joel_Luks!
7:26PM- Go outside with my puppy to play. Who needs digital, anyway?!
11:45PM- I need digital. My fingers begin to twitch
12:00AM- I grab my iPad, log onto TweetDeck so I can hit Facebook and Twitter at the same time and proceed to verbal vomit all over the digital universe about how much I have missed it
*Please note this timeline does not include my time spent a) hovering over people trying to glance at their TweetDeck and b) suppressing the urge to take my Blackberry in the bathroom so no one could catch me on Facebook
As I said, Digital Down Day wasn’t life changing. It did, however, show me that my addiction is not one of needing the constant feeling of connection 24/7, it is one of convenience and instantaneous actions. It also showed me that social media provides the much needed mental breaks during the day to increase my focus on important tasks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some tweets to catch up on!
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Tags: #DigitalDownDay, social media, twitter
This is fantastic!