Quitting the Social Internets

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I quit MySpace, Twit­ter, Google Ana­lyt­ics, LinkedIn. I haven’t quit Face­book (yet), but I just read an essay on Adbusters about doing just that, some­thing a friend of ours did recently to our puz­zle­ment and dis­ap­point­ment. Deep down, though, I really do under­stand and desire the same. For all the wonder and bringing-​together that the social Inter­net has to offer — and I have def­i­nitely made pos­i­tive use of it — I have found it too often being an inhibitor to real life. I want to read more books, but there is the Inter­net. I want to spend more time with real people, but there is the Inter­net. I want to ride my bike and build things with my hands, but there is the Internet.

I’m not giving up on the Inter­net, obvi­ously. A major­ity of my work is here. It keeps me in touch with friends and family, and the design indus­try in which I take part. I can read about any­thing, quickly. But, I think we have some valid ques­tions on the table about how much vir­tual time we spend ‘engag­ing’ one another.

Adden­dum: Truly, I love the Inter­net. And truly, it seems an oxy­moron to write what I have and keep this online jour­nal. Some­how, though, it makes sense. Both/and, please?