Monday, September 14, 2009

a twit no more.

It's official. I had secretly gone cold turkey on Twitter the past 10 days and now, I'm proud to emerge a stronger person, liberated from the bonds of unwritten expectations that had virtually (yes, pun) ruled my life.

No longer do I need to constantly think of witty liners - condensed into 140 characters. No longer do I need to detach from my surroundings in order to take that perfect tweet photo. No longer do I need to regularly check if anyone had dropped me a comment or two.

It all started when I learnt about Twitter and thought it would be a cool solution to the lack of activity on my blog. Having a microblog would continue to keep readers updated and, at the same time, take the pressure off the need for me to blog constantly. That worked out well for awhile, until my micro-blogging urge grew stronger and more frequent, and my desire to blog, ironically, diminished.

I finally knew that it was time to put an end to this when I was consciously thinking of tweets in the toilet, in the train, and yes, even when I'm in bed. It's one of those things that stick in your head, making your brain form new tweet sentences faster than you can say shenanigans.

In a world where value-add is highly treasured, we somehow fail to see how little value social networking sites have added to our lives. Ok, so we found out that so-and-so is eating crabs for dinner, or that so-and-so went to the zoo over the weekend...and then what?

In time to come, I don't want people, particularly my kids, to remember me as a Twitter addict or a Facebook maniac. I want to leave a legacy, even if it's a small one, that has made some impact on society and changed some lives.

So, this is it - three months and 143 tweets later, I'm pulling the plug on the account. And in true Twitter style, I conclude: "Goodbye, twee' you around". Next cold turkey mission, Facebook!

10 meaningful things you can do when not tweeting:

1) Read a spiritually enriching book (and pass it on when you're done)
2) Pray for a family member, friend or the world
3) Spend more time - in the living room - with your family
4) Clean up the junk which also happens to be your bedroom
5) Get involved in other forms of social networking = church ministry
6) Write a blog entry that inspires in a good way
7) Exercise.
8) Sleep early...so that you can rise early (Now, don't judge me.)
9) Learn a new skill that will ultimately benefit others
10) Acquire new knowledge by watching good TV programmes (think Nat Geo, History, etc)

Oh yes, anyone keen on joining the I-don't-wanna-be-a-twit-anymore support group, feel free to call me! Like all other forms of addiction, moral support from a friend is always helpful :)

Posted by Jo at 10:46 PM