So here it goes – after my last post I was blown away by the comments and messages I received from people who read the blog. I never knew there were so many readers! The messages were beautiful – so thank you!
After some weeks of electronic soul searching the blog is back – but with balance.
I was dismayed by the time wasting and noise and I think, ultimately the stress of using Facebook and Twitter. I know that sounds strange but the constant stream of information is a crazy thing to deal with and I can certainly say – I had had enough of it! I am a sponge when it comes to information but there is only so much one girl can take! I think this actually was the catalyst behind me wanting to close the blog, but I couldn’t pinpoint it then. By juggling all of these electronic mediums at once, it was just too much. Think about it – I am a news addict and I am trying to take in the news of two countries at once, I never have any news downtime. There is never a time when 99% of my Facebook or Twitter friends are asleep – when I wake up I catch up on everything going on in Australia, during the day it is the US and then when I get home it is both. It is exhausting! So I have given them a heave-ho and will be concentrating purely on the blog. It was when I made this decision a few days ago, that realized just how much I loved blogging until Facebook and Twitter became so prevalent. I guess subconsciously I started to question why I would spend time authoring a blog post when I can update what I am doing in a few words.
I had been on Facebook since it was a student only portal and started on Twitter quite early too. Maybe I have just outgrown them? Maybe I was over the constant updates and also the streams of information? It is interesting to note that when I thought about it deeply, I realized that none of the information I was being bombarded with was particularly important to me. Yet, I would get the feeling that if I didn’t check Facebook or Twitter, I would miss out on something. Little did I know, I am not missing much at all!
I think through this, I realized that I am someone that thrives on communicating more than in few sentence streams or by ‘liking’ something. It is also now that I can safely say I am also dismayed at the laziness factor of social media. It is EASY to stay in contact with someone by a two word “Me too!” after a status update or clicking like on a photo but to me, that isn’t real friendship if it isn’t something that is reflected away from the computer. I may update my Facebook status every hour, but as a Facebook friend (or as a friend who is depending on Facebook to stay in contact) thinking that that is all that is going on in someone’s world is clearly missing out on everything that happens in the other 59 minutes until the next update. That adds up to a lot. I must say, this is just how I feel. I know people treasure their Facebook friendships but for me, Facebook became a place for ‘contacts’. There was a blur of Collingwood pals, NY acquaintances, school friends, uni friends, professional contacts and family. That is a weird mix to be dealing with all at once. In that whole flurry of ‘friends’ there were only a small amount of people that I realized I could spill my guts to over pizza and cokes. They are the ones who keep in touch off it and trust me, living away from many of my friends, I have realized I feel closer to those who bother to send me an email or make a quick phone call than anyone else and for this, I love them so dearly.
The sad thing is that all of this is because it actually is harder to send an email or write a card or pick up a phone but since when did we get too busy for that? If a friend can’t be bothered doing that – then what are they really? I thrive on real connections. Online just isn’t doing it for me – even with distance as a barrier to so many of my friends and family. It is complicated and strange – communication has changed so much but are we communicating better or more deeply? We have more devices to keep in contact than ever before but why is it so hard? I honestly don’t know. It makes me sad that people say they are too busy to send Christmas cards (or even send an e-card) or even the horrific excuse of being too busy to write a thank you note. It is easy to Facebook and Twitter 24 hours a day but to me, nothing beats a two hour chat on the phone or receiving the ultimate form of communication – a letter in the mail.
While reading your messages, I also realized what a journal of my life that the blog had become. When I was telling a colleague about my adventure seeing the Oprah show, I was able to go back and read my words on it and remember all of those little things that I wouldn’t necessarily remember now. So hopefully now, with everything feeling a lot more balanced, the blog will come to life again. I envisage a nice little redesign coming up and of course I have SO much to catch up on. I really think this is the right way to go about it and I feel so wonderful without the barrage of over-sharing on Facebook and Twitter. If you are feeling overwhelmed with so much information being thrown at you, maybe try and take a break from it all. You may be surprised at what you find.