This past week or so I have begun to reflect. I have reflected on my different relationships I hold dear to me and also my relationship with myself. Now as I’m sure you are no well aware I gave up twitter and facebook for Lent. In the beginning not being able to log on to twitter to read up on what my “friends” were doing or post random excerpts from my day-to-day life was a struggle. I struggled with this and social drinking the most. But after a few days it became a breeze. For me the only time I wanted to tweet is when someone said something hilarious or when I was watching March Madness. But I have also picked up on something about relationships I have with different people.
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| Via: OrangiePorangie |
1. A few of my friends would ask me, “did you see ________ on twitter.” And I was like, “No, I gave it up for Lent.” And it made me sit there and wonder, Is this what it has come to? Relationships you have with other people are based on social networks? Is this the only way you are able to stay connected? I mean totally disagree. But this has made me realize which relationships are true and which are rather superficial. There are things I had no idea were going on in my “friends” lives that were only placed on twitter. And maybe this is partially my fault for not keeping in touch with them. But the phone goes both ways. I personally love talking on the phone. I always have but there are only a few people I actually have phone conversations with on a regular basis. Well actually only two people I can think of, one being my mother.
2. My life feels a lot less cluttered. And I find that the few people I actually do speak to on a regular basis outside of twitter and facebook our relationships have grown. They know what I’m going through and how I am doing not based on my twitter timeline but actually taking the time out of their day to ask. And this is important to me. Therefore they are important to me. Again I’m being vague, by choice.
3. I also feel more aware. And by that I mean more aware of my surroundings and more aware of where I stand. I am not always looking down at my phone catching up on my timeline. I also feel more aware of people and their true intentions. With twitter things get so boggled with “subliminal messages” that are to you and not to you. I can never tell the difference. And it always has me sitting there, “feeling some kind of way. “ and I just think these past few weeks life has been much easier done than said.
4. My relationship with my “boyfriend” (don’t know the last time we have called each other boyfriend/girlfriend. Just last week he called me his arch-enemy) but our relationship has had not one qualm since I have been off twitter. And this is sad to me. Not placing much blame on him because he has asked for years for us to remove ourselves from social networks but me, “wanting to stay relevant”, as my girlfriend says, has kept me on. Which I disagree but I do not feel like him and I should have to disconnect from the world to improve our relationship. There are other underlying issues there, (another post, another time).
a. We don’t even follow one another. But we still look and don’t always like what we see. But it’s twitter. I guess this is a lesson. I have taught myself.
5. I also read in an article yesterday that stated, "we tend to present an upbeat version of ourselves, leaving out bad things." which I find to be true for the most part but then you have those debby downers that always seem to be complaining about something. The article also said, "so we see this glossy image of others and feel as if our lives don't measure up. But that's not the full picture." People should just live their lives. Their REAL ones, not for an affirmation from others.
I just have learned a lot about myself. Not sure that was my goal for giving up twitter & facebook is more so to grow my bond with God. But I guess getting something out of the experience is good. Not saying that when I do return I will do a 180 and completely change and not tweet a lot, but it is an eye opening experience that I should be doing less tweeting when I am in the middle of living.
XO
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