“Twittering,” a social media application, is more and more becoing all I do on the computer. It has replaced journaling on paper, writing pieces longer than 140 characters, and reading. Checking my “thread” (the updates of the people I am following) on www.twitter.com has become my newspaper, my phone and my email. When I get up in the morning or return to my desk from a trip out on the town, I don’t check my email, I check twitter.
For a while I told myself that I was just working on promoting this blog. I was just keeping up on local and national news. I was making a few friends. Then my husband accused me of sustituting the 450 virtual friends on my account for real interactions with real people. I was stung to the heart. Then I was picked up by the “twitter addict” robot even though for weeks I had been avoiding using the word “addict” in my posts. How did that happen? It seems a twitter-friend mentioned me on one of *his* posts in conjunction with addiction and that aroused the robot’s interest.
I was worried. Had I been spending too much time on Twitter?
I read an article on limiting Twitter time use. It said no more than 30 minutes at a time. It said use a kitchen timer. I took another sip of coffee, looked at the screen. “I’m not as bad as those people who need to do that,” I told myself. “Besides, I get lots of good info from Twitter. Who knew before everyone else in the house about the attacks on Gaza? Who has links to websites all over the world, on topics from blogging to dating to writing to Christian living? And if I need help as a webmaster, all I have to do is make a post and explain the trouble, and help is on the way. Twitter is like a treasure trove of SEO and WordPress experts.” I took another sip of coffee and visited Chris Brogan’s blog.
How much time to I spend on Twitter? To the best of my knowledge, about 2 hours a day. Is that too much? Because my family is starting to act as if it is. Kids come up and say, “Mom, will you ever get off that Twitter site?” I defend myself, crying out
“Leave me alone! Anyway, I’ll be off in just a minute!”
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Of course I’d like to mention that if you do social media, you can follow me on Twitter at @FWRenaissance. I’ll follow you back, in general, provided you’re not a robot, promoting a dating service, or a multi-level marketer.
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I hereby resist the temptation to waste MORE time on this computer! (so I didn’t join Twitter, YET)
I like the blog – be back to peruse further, later!
My husband can’t stand my use of twitter. He also accuses me of being addicted and doesn’t like me sharing details about our lives, such as being at the State Fair of Texas or swimming with the kids. I’ve had to drastically cut back to make him happy. What I agreed to do is only use it from 8-5 on weekdays, uninstall twitterberry from my phone, and only tweet about business. If he had it his way, I would no longer have a twitter id.
Glad to hear I’m not the only one with this peculiar issue.
I am Laurisa’s husband and before I begin my comment, let me say that I am a Network Analyst and understand the Internet and social networking. That said, there is a line between appropriate and inappropriate Internet activity. Here are some personal examples of what I think are inappropriate: when your spouse says one thing then tweets an opposite comment, when your spouse sleeps with the phone, when you wake up at 4 or 5am and see your spouse in the closet tweeting with her phone, when your supposedly on “date” time and she’s twittering at bathroom trips and other, when your spouse engages in suggestive or inuendo comments with other men (in play or not) and yes, commenting personal content such as her comment, again.
If you yourself are recognizing this as problem then perhaps you, as well as Laurisa, should re-evaluate your priorities, especially since your kids are affected too.
So yes, she has had to make those changes and yes, she needs to discontinue her presence. Will she? Thats up to her, but twitter has been and is an issue in our personal life and the longer she continues, the harder it will be to for our relationship to heal.
BTW, the examples listed are her actions on twitter which she always conveniently leaves out when defending her Internet presence.
C.R.
Thank you for commenting. There seems to be two issues you bring up. One, twittering takes away couple time. Two, a married person might meet someone who is, in reality or not, a threat to their spouse.
I agree completely that it would be better to not take the blackberry or other web-enabled device on a date. As for the other issues you raise, I just don’t know. These are gray areas. I have learned from my own experience that like the layers of an onion, these things are rarely as simple as they appear. And sometimes the REAL problem can be something deeper than the disputed behavior. Twitter may just be the symptom, whether serious or benign, of some larger situation.
Yes, Sonja, that has been discussed in session as well as the fact that a symptom can itself become the problem.
I love twitter! lol.
It’s awesome meeting new people and getting to know about different areas. What better then to learn from someone who lives there. Like you blog, I love coming over and checking out the News in Fort Worth.
http://thejoereview.com/
Hi Sonja,
Thanks for following me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/DavidKozlowski
I have plenty of images of Fort Worth and north Texas if you ever need to use them on your blog. Will spend some time checking it out.
Regards,
Dave
http://dallasphotoworks.com