[I'm probably not going to post every day of the detox, and when I do post it won't always be as heavily detox-focused as this post is, but I will blog about thoughts about the internet and social media from time to time. Also, comments make me happy.]
Social media has transformed the way I think.
When I'm talking to Nathan and he says something loving or hilarious (or sometimes lovingly hilarious), I instantly think, "I should post that on Tumblr." When I'm listening to Anne's House of Dreams on audiobook and hear a clever line, I want to make it my Facebook status. It's almost as though posting something on social media gives it life--it is justified, it actually happened.
I think Leah L. White put it nicely when she said that "there is a sort of high-schoolish social pressure that exists on Facebook." We are once again roaming the halls with our books pressed to our chests, catching snippets of conversations from the popular kids, the emo kids, the religious kids. Oh how nice they dress. Oh what good taste in music they have. Oh how well they quote the Bible. In our thrift-store jeans we join the conversation--we've seen that movie, too. We've read that book. Please, acknowledge us.
And isn't that part of the reason why we saw that movie, read that book? To join the buzzing conversation, to tell someone, to be able to say you did whateveritwas?
I'm not saying it's wrong to talk to people about your day, to share stories and ideas. But I think there is a difference between living life and sharing it with others when the occasion arises, and living life so you can share it with others as soon as it happens.
In less than 24 hours of detoxing I've realized just how tightly social media has vined itself around my validity.
Also, in less than 24 hours of detoxing, Tumblr has sent me an email saying, "You should see what's happening on Tumblr!" Not only do I need social media to feel valid, it needs me.
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