I’m coming off a week of self-imposed (modified) computer-rest. For a week, I didn’t blog, read other blogs, comment on other blogs, tweet or even read tweets, only checked Facebook a couple of times, and didn’t obsess over my email.
I engaged in this experiment because of sky-high levels of anxiety. Not that anxiety is a new phenomenon for me, but this particular anxiety seemed to be exacerbated by spending long periods of time online. It’s only gotten worse since I started blogging. When I began, I was naïve enough to think that in order to blog, one simply wrote something and then posted it. And you can, if you want only your close friends and family to read it. If you want to attract a larger audience, you generally need to delve into the world of social networking. At first I thought it was sufficient to link my posts to my Facebook page. But then one day, the lovely Helene re-tweeted one of my posts, and before my astonished eyes, my blog traffic went through the roof.
So I joined Twitter. My relatively quiet computer life took on a hectic quality. No matter what I was doing, there was a low-level cacophony in the background, the constant dull roar of a crowd that compelled me to click between windows like a madwoman to see what I might be missing. And on Twitter, give it just 15 minutes and you’ve missed a LOT.
Then I fell into the web of the blogging community, discovered some truly amazing writers, and found myself spending hours reading and commenting on their fabulous posts.
And like Alice gone down the rabbit hole, it got curiouser and curiouser. I read posts, commented, posted questions and answers to forums, checked Twitter so much that it became an involuntary twitch. My fingers spasmed to the mouse of their own accord to feverishly click between email, blog, draft post, that other blog I was just reading, Twitter, draft post, ohmigosh EMAIL(!), my own blog comments, draft post, Twitter, and Facebook.
I put myself on computer-hiatus because I could feel the inside of my head changing, burning out its transmission in a futile attempt to keep up with the Internet itself. Despite severe insomnia, my brain felt like it had been on a steady diet of Starbucks and Red Bull with some chocolate covered espresso beans on the side. And that is not a fun environment from which to write.
So, hoping to calm myself, into the breach I went. The first 12 hours were rough. I was sweaty and twitchy, and kept gravitating towards my laptop before remembering that it was verboten. Nerves set in. What was I missing? Was I losing followers on my blog? Was there some a controversy I didn’t know about? Did @blogdangerously get thrown in Twitter jail again at this week’s #wineparty, and if so, did she manage another not-so-stealthy jailbreak? Is everybody loving Elizabeth Lyons’ new book as much as I am?
Oddly enough, it turns out I’m not the only person worried about what our multitasking lifestyles are doing to our brains. The New York Times featured an article yesterday about a family struggling with being too plugged in. It reads like the 1980’s public service announcement about drugs, even going so far as to say, “This is your brain on computers.” (Cue visual of frying egg).
The article says that during the workday, people change windows to check email and other programs an average of 37 times per hour. Hubster and I both think that estimate is on the low side. Yet, when you stop to think about it, interrupting your thoughts even 37 times per hour is bound to affect your ability to engage in in-depth reading, reasoning, and writing.
Hubster is an attorney, practicing litigation. He runs two computer monitors continuously throughout the day, and says the two monitors enable him to avoid the constant switching back and forth between windows. By keeping research materials open on one monitor and his working document in the other, he’s able to work more efficiently.
However, most of us don’t have the luxury of two monitors, or Hubster’s near superhuman ability to focus on one project at a time. His must be an unusual brain, because he also has a real knack for picking something up right where he left off. When I switch gears from one thing to another, it takes several minutes to re-acquaint myself, and I lose a good bit of time.
Apparently I’m not alone. NPR ran a segment on multitasking last Friday, featuring a professor of communications at Stanford and an associate professor of neurology, physiology and psychiatry, and director of the neuroscience imaging center at the University of California San Francisco. (Do you think that second guy might multitask?)
The segment begins by referencing that same 1980’s PSA: this is your brain online. (Cue another frying egg).
Both professors agreed that in studies, a negative impact on performance could be observed when subjects were switching rapidly between tasks.
Interestingly enough, the professor of communications also observed that people who multitask the most are actually the least capable of performing the most important elements of multitasking. (Those skills deemed most essential to successful multitasking, in case you were wondering, were ability to filter out irrelevancy, short-term memory, and the actual speed with which one is able to switch from one task to another.)
This lends credence to the theory postulated in an op/ed piece that ran in our local paper earlier this week. It theorized that the way we live in this digital age is actually re-wiring our brains. We’ve gone from being able to focus for great lengths of time on one task to compulsively multitasking, and our brains are changing with our habits. You might say we’re evolving, but evolving in reverse, losing social skills we’ve taken thousands of years as a species to build. This op/ed cited today’s teens’ preference for texting instead of talking—they feel it’s far more efficient. At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, does this mean we’re growing a generation of instant-gratification junkies who will not only miss out on the quiet pleasure of hours curled in a chair with a book, but also on discussing that same book at length (in person) at a cocktail party? And if so, how do we help our children to grow up in this world and be a part of it, without becoming Pentium chips?
After this week, I feel calmer. More accurately, it feels as if I’ve reset my brain to analog, and that’s not a bad thing. More and faster aren’t always better. Last night I sat down and immersed myself in a book before bed, instead of using that precious end-of-day time to frantically catch up on self-imposed online “work.”
Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be retiring from social networking or the blog community. But a week’s vacation sure was nice, and since my brain probably has about 1/1000th the processing ability of even a first generation iPhone, I’m going to continue to seek out ways not to treat it like one.
I hate to disrupt your break from too much technology–I am completely with you on the multi-tasking thing, I read the NYT article and even wrote about the topic recently, so I won't be offended if you don't respond right away–but I hoped you'd have a chance to read this comment. My name is Abigail Pogrebin; I'm an identical twin and former 60 Minutes producer who just published a book about twins called “One and the Same.” I think any parent of twins or multiples will find much to chew on and maybe some guidance as to how to dodge pitfalls of doubleness. I'd love to speak to you about the possibility of a book review and/or author Q&A. My email is apogrebin@gmail.com, website:www.abigailpogrebin.com.
Hi, Abigail!
Thanks for reading and commenting, and congrats on your book!
Would love to read your book–I'll shoot you an email.
It's interesting, if your blog archive reflects how long you've been blogging, you're realtively new like me. And let me tell you, I've beeng going through the same exact thing you have!
I'm passionate about building my blog, but i also work full time and have a child. So, I've also been feeling overwhelmed lately with trying to do the things necessary to grow my readership while doing everything else that's really important.
Like you, i never realized how much time reading and commenting on other blogs would take up. I had begun to follow too many. To regain some of my sanity I recently unfollowed a handful and now read and comment faithfully on those that I truly identify with and love. Pssst, yours is one of them in case you hadn't figured that out. 😉
So with that I will say welcome back and here's to keeping blogging FUN, which is what it should be.
Woah, it's like you're in my brain writing FOR me. When I started blogging a mere 3 months ago I thought the SAME thing. Now my fiancee says that if he knew what blogging did to me, he would have never supporting me starting a blog. I guess that means I need a tech-break too, or to reduce my obsession, somehow.
I also try to multitask and I mutlifail. In fact, I miss that key component of multitasking: being able to keep up with the varying things all at once. Inevitably, I sacrifice details and then find myself in trouble, or not doing my best.
Hrm, maybe I need a tech-cation, too?
Whether I have been or have not been thrown in Twitter Jail does NOT take priority over real life and sanity. Afterall, there's always another #wineparty.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed your week away and glad you're back!
Love,
Kit
Oh girl, I totally hear you! Due to circumstances beyond my control (aka summer break and family emergencies), I've been away from blogging and while I've been busy, it's been kind of nice to not have that pressure. I did worry about losing readers and all that jazz but with a recent incident with one of my kids, I realized that losing readers is not the most important thing in life.
Sometimes it's nice to step away and regroup…I've actually started reading some books that have been collecting dust and I'm loving it!!
BTW, you'll find that your most loyal readers (me included) will never leave you even if you take months away from blogging. To me, it's much more than just blogging. It's a connection with other people…you start to truly care about their lives and what's going on in their neck of the woods.
I was wondering where you were! I missed you!!
I'm taking a break for a short vacation…I'm SO looking forward to it!! I need the break and to get off the computer so that I'll have something to blog about!!
I'm glad you are back
Funny. I only recently found your blog and bookmarked it, then noticed that despite the fact that you'd been posting regularly, you seem to have disappeared. I wondered if something had happened. Sounds like what you did was really smart.
In the same vein (and maybe kinda weirdly since I've only been blogging a short time and have very few readers), I was feeling too much pressure last week and decided to step away from it. I was actually worried about losing my 5 readers (okay, so it's not quite that low), but I needed to do it for my sanity.
Like you mention in your post, I thought until recently that you could just write what you feel like writing, post it, and be done. Then I discovered the blogging tips on the mommyologist blog and became a little overwhelmed. I already spend time I don't have to write, because I need the outlet. Now I'm supposed to do all this other stuff.
So I took a week off and today, found myself drawn back to my blog. I want to write and I want to connect. But the break was necessary to prove that to myself.
Thanks for the post, and your timing is impeccable!
Digital diets are really refreshing. I hope you've come back with a better grasp of the big picture and the ability to keep this online world from “running” you. It's tough but it can be done!
I totally feel you. Except I have no idea what twitterjail is.
Well, SHIT!!! And I, too, am wondering about the twitterjail thingy?!
As a new obsessive blogger I am rapidly going into internet overload. If my iPhone had buttons they would be worn off. I've yet to join Twitter for fear that I'll burn dinner, forget to feed my son and get fired from my job. It might just put be over the edge. Were taking a small vacation next month and I was worried about being away from my laptop for 4 days. I'm glad to know that eventually the shakes stop!
Stopping by per Shits & Giggles Sundays.
I'm a new follower through Alabaster Cow. I'm seriously enjoying your blog! Hope to see you around mine sometime…
http://vandylandmommy.blogspot.com
i just joined the blogging/twitter world a couple months ago and have been blown away! I can totally see how it would cause anxiety. I have struggled with insomnia for the past year 1/2 or so (now it's under control) and the first few weeks I was blogging I would lay in bed obsessing about what to write, who might read, what people would think, etc etc. It was ridiculous. I'm learning to take it easy and make sure i'm doing it for me and that it remains therapeutic to my journey, as I originally intended!
ps. Alabaster cow sent me over!
Oh lord, I don't know. I get all twitchy and rashy and short of breath without the internets. Which I'm sure means I have a problem.
When we were on vacation, last week-I was DYING. We were in Mexico so internet access was limited and since my hubs is mean and thinks I should un-plug for vacations, I was having to cower in a bathroom and “roam” with my cellphone to get access-argh!
I actually can't use two monitors-it makes my attention span even shorter, if that's really possible.
Coming by from Ericka's site and liking it here!
Hey! On of our SITSas featured you on her blog today so I came by to check out your blog. I luv it! Definitely following…
Hello! Coming at Alabastercow's request.
Any fellow survivor of PPD (If you know the initials, you were there…) is a friend of mine.
Friends forever, not the best club to be in, but friends forever with you now.
NICE TO MEET YOU!!
Amen.
Yes, it is easy to get to crazed with it. This may sound weird, but totally makes sense with my OCD-ness, but I assign days when I do certain things. I only do blog stuff on certain days, so there are days off, and I only do comments for a couple of days (not DAYS, more like an hour or two each of those days!). It's a fine line between fun and not fun. Mostly fun though!
I have written a couple of posts about just this very thing. It's getting so tough for us to keep our minds focused on anything for more than a few seconds. I can barely concentrate on even writing this simple comment. My mind has already started to flutter staying in one place so long.
Good for you! Followed Alabaster Cow's blog and found you… I'm so envious of your ability to unplug for a week! I work at a law office and sit at a computer all day. Ever since I started blogging (about a month ago), my productivity at work has drastically declined (not that I care!). Anyway… that numbing/aching/tingling feeling in my right hand is most certainly the effects of the blogosphere!
It can be really hard to find a balance sometimes! I always joke that my blog is my full-time job that I don't get paid for. I am totally addicted to it though!