Sunday, February 19, 2012

I won’t tweet—don’t ask me


If I don't check my FaceBook page a couple of times a day and keep it weeded, I end up with dozens of messages begging for attention, most of which are people saying, "Yeah, right," and "Me, too." It's fairly easy to flip through and discard the irrelevant or inconsequential ones, or quickly "like" something somebody said. But it still takes time.

On the other hand, sometimes I get into an interesting quip-fest that goes on and keeps me entertained maybe for days.

Don't get me wrong--I like having connections with friends and family between personal visits. I like getting acquainted with new people. I like the funny things they say or post, and the witty repartee that can develop. And it's great to be in a private group with my writer friends where we can communicate often.

Followers of my blog have no doubt observed the space between posts. It isn't that I have nothing to say. I'm one of the most verbal, opinionated people you'll ever meet. It's just that I'm so busy I don't take time to say everything that's on my mind.

I am unencumbered by housework and children and a career. When we retired we divided the household duties to our mutual satisfaction--I cook, he cleans. I'm very grateful for that because I find housework repetitive and frustrating; after all, it's never really done if you have to do it over again in a few days. I like being free to set my own goals, climb my own figurative mountains, and stop to smell the roses.

Maybe it's that I have such a hard time focusing when so many choices of ways to spend my time keep me in a continual state of indecision. Distractions, after all, are Satan's way of keeping us in the thick of thin things.

I know productive people I admire who keep up at least one blog, do FaceBook and Linked-In, and even Twitter. What I don't understand is how people can keep up with all the social networking that goes on and still have a life. Just asking, because I haven't found the secret.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

Same here. My social networking stops at a blog and Facebook. Not interested in Twitter AT ALL. I have enough to do. I like to let Facebook go for days (or weeks) to just give myself a break. I have found out great things via facebook (such as so&so's son's mission call), but would I really be worse off having not read that? I'll get by. I prefer blogs to Facebook, too. It's just more personal. Maybe because I love pictures and I always have too much to write. :)

Mary said...

Several years ago when my friend told me she had signed up for Facebook, and then recommended it to me with the caveat that I would receive contacts from 100+ high school friends who want to get back in touch, I knew it wasn't for me. I can barely keep up with the friends I have in person! I recently opened a Pinterest account, but only because it helps me organize the fun ideas I find on the web.