I’ve decided to do something radical. No, not a tattoo (though that would be wild for me).
I’m going to cut back massively on my online presence.
No, seriously. I’ve spent the last 20 years building up my online presence, developing connections, and working on spreading myself all over the internet. And I’m pretty much over it.
I’ve begun deactivating online accounts I rarely use, including Pinterest, Brainbench, and several others. I’m unsubscribing from all the dumb mailing lists. I’m leaving the huge lists of forums I used to visit. I’m reconsidering my involvement with social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. More and more, I find myself disgusted with what I have to put up with using these services, and less and less am I finding joy in using them.
I’m hoping that it will free up my brain to make room for more important things like spending time writing, updating my blog, recording music, and spending time with my family. All worthy causes.
I do realize, of course, that I will have to maintain at least one online presence. Most likely I will keep one social media outlet as well (and there’s plenty of reasons it probably won’t be Facebook). But the truth is, these things don’t define me, and I don’t need them to live a happy, fulfilled life. Twenty years ago, I was better off without them, and I believe you were too, if you happen to be old enough to remember life before the internet.
It is a gradual process. Places like Facebook make it extremely difficult to leave, but it is indeed possible.
Wish me luck.
