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Do You Need a #SocialMedia Detox? #writing

By 11/09/2015May 28th, 2019writing

In a conversation today, I realized that my social media life is 6 years old.

Before that, I didn’t possess a smartphone, didn’t have Facebook, or Twitter.  I see its good points– it has put me in touch with some fantastic people, my reading list comes curated from the reading, writing, publishing and life experts I’ve followed and friend-ed. I’ve had work and writing opportunities via social media.

But no matter how much it gives me, it also takes away– I’ve become less focused these days. In my writing, but also, deplorably, in my reading. My attention span has reduced, and I find myself wanting to multi-task. Upload pictures on Pinterest while I post something on Twitter, and also try to catch a show on TV or cook– that sort of thing.

It has affected my inner silence, the silence I always retreat to when writing, or meditating. That’s another argument for social media detox: distraction is the enemy of attention, and the quality of our lives is in direct proportion to the attention we pay to it.

Around me in the public transport and malls, I see fewer conversations. Bent necks, glazed eyes on screens, headphones all around. Everyone, from a corporate honcho to a construction worker, is flicking away on their screens, oblivious of the life passing them by. I’ve touched on the selfie craze before on this blog, and social media, but not really on detoxing myself from all sorts of screens.

I’m trying to put away my phone, and carry a book instead of a tab. To just look around more, and severely limit internet usage.

It is ironic that I’m saying all of this on my blog: I need to go off and stare into space for a while, and get myself a social media detox just as the video recommends!

Meanwhile, while you’re still here, questions for you: What role does social media play in your life? What social media are you part of? What needs does it fulfill? Do you primarily interact with your friends online or offline? Do you think you need a social media detox?

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Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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89 Comments

  • Digital detox is the one i needed the most now. Let me give a try for it soon.

  • Social media feeds the needs I have for spiritual connection. I like listening to people talk about faith on YouTube, for example. But I also know that unless I spend quiet time listening to God himself…anything I gain from the computer is worthless. I like researching online…from dance choreography to recipes. I also like reading online and in print. I don’t have many friendships, but I am consciously focusing on enriching my life/others lives by spending time with people I love.

  • When I have vacations I don’t take my computer with me, usually this is great for having new inspiration. I even wrote a post about it in my blog.

  • mariaholm says:

    You are so right. People are glued to their screens and I include myself. I also stared six years ago with Facebook and since then it has developed into many other platforms. I am not ready to sacrifice Facebook, but I sped much time at WordPress blogging universe and read a lot of online stuff beside that. My eyes often hurt

  • Aulia says:

    For me, it is a quite different case. I’m not really into facebook and twitter right now. But it’s shifting to instant messenger (such as Line and whatsapp) and it keeps me busy. I keep looking on my screen. So I think I need an instant messenger detox.
    I already tried it actually, like when I’m with my significant other, we made a deal that we will turn off our phone and just spend time like “real human”.

    Anyway, it’s a good video and great post! 🙂

  • Wonderful topic 🙂 one of my colleague used to not use his phone for 2 days in a month. I don’t know how he did it but it was different and a good thing to do 🙂 for me, that may seem difficult as of now 😀

  • FEY Kegs says:

    Being on social media is all linked to my blog and to help grow my author platform if not for that I wouldn’t really be on it but interacting with others online is also nice too. Wonderful post, i’m on twitter @FEYKegs facebook, google+ and others i can’t remember lool

  • D.G.Kaye says:

    It seems as though many bloggers and writers are contemplating this question lately; I know I am. As writers and published authors we have to spread ourselves pretty thin between writing, publishing, marketing, blogging, posting, reading, and real life. The mere length of that prior sentence could send many gasping for air. I think it’s important that we all find a way to keep a little ‘me time’. The trick is for us to find a balance which isn’t always easy, there’s always something to do it seems.

  • I so understand! Lately I’ve been talking walks by my campus garden (while the weather is still nice). I’ve also taken up knitting to give my eyes a break from the screen.

  • Tomorrow marks 1 week FB free for me. The first 2 days were the toughest. Now I’m wondering if I’ll ever go back.
    A trusted friend is graciously reposting my blogs for me on my blog page. So yes, i see the irony, as well. Yet, right now I need to write and delve further inward, so I can face my pain instead of run away from it. That’s where i am today. Though there’s no telling what next week will bring! I may need the break from diving.

  • Victoria says:

    I mainly use social media as an extension of my blog…but I am guilty of using it to browse what is going on in other’s lives and such. Sometimes I find that the first thing I do when I wake up is check out Facebook, Instagram, etc. Perhaps I do need a detox after all!

    Victoria

  • Like you I’ve enjoyed the connections I’ve made and even learned a thing or two, but often I feel like it occupies too large a chunk of my life. It not only keeps me from writing but my “to-do” list grows longer day by day, a desk that was once orderly now has stacks of papers I should deal with. I’m going to get to that right now!

  • larrydw2009 says:

    Nellie Harper Lee once wrote in a letter to Oprah Winfrey about her love of books as a child and her dedication to the written word. “Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cellphones, iPods and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books”
    I use technology when I need to and I do have a cellphone but they are just like the auto, a fork and knife, etc.. I still use stamps and haven’t forgotten how to read or write….smile

  • Reblogged this on Writ of Rags and commented:
    More thoughts on #SocialMedia from @Daily(w)rite!

  • I began a Facebook limitation experiment about a month ago. Please have a look at my series, Ditching Facebook, for some of my thoughts.

  • BellyBytes says:

    I’m quite confused about social media….I’m just about getting the hang of blogging despite being at it for years ….FB is something that reminds me of others’ birthdays , Instagram is still something I can’t understand as for Twitter…….I just give up!

  • Elizabeth says:

    Social media is definitely a great tool, but when used in excess, it just becomes a damper for productivity. I decided to take away Twitter (and my personal Facebook years ago) because I realized that it wasn’t really adding any value to my life. In fact, it was probably more detrimental than anything. I’d go in and find myself screenlogging (a.k.a wasting time browsing things) without having done the things I had intended to do…

    Now I’ve just gone back to pen and paper.

  • Reblogged this on Emily Arden, author and commented:
    So true!!! Especially the difficulty we have concentrating on one thing as we become more used to multi-tasking and instant gratification. I probably do need a social media detox! (I am trying to restrict myself to only a few days a week, which helps)

  • kukupassion says:

    I have had to deactivate my Facebook account for days and, whenever I logged back on to see what I had missed, I realized I never missed much. As for my Twitter Account, it has suffered neglect. I have realized that social media takes too much of my time too, takes away time for my family (ironically also hooked to their own gadgets, anyway); and eats into my creative time. I have put away my smart phone and I am planning to buy a tab which could be lest at home when I do not really need to connect on social media. BBC news on radio really does keep me up to date. The rest of my contacts I am checking on once in a while and it is adequate. I occasionally take off some holiday by the waterside, and I do my writing on paper, only updating friends on social media on return. Detoxing is good. I never get left behind by the rest of the world by logging off social media; it gives me a great opportunity to log onto reality!!

  • Mark Catlin says:

    Reblogged this on markcatlin3695's Blog.

  • A Live Conversation, Now THAT’S a Great Idea.

  • DougMarshall says:

    Thanks for liking my blog on social media. I’m writing about internet marketing as part of my university course. People are the worst with their social medias. They’re so busy looking like they are doing things on social media that they don’t do anything. Like, whenever you see that people have taken a billion pictures of themselves at a party, you know that they’re the ones that sit on the side the whole time being boring. It’s so annoying having to deal with them, but in a way it’s kind of sad…

  • macjam47 says:

    Wow! You must be reading my mind. I am on Twitter, FB, Tumbler, Pinterest, Goodreads, and a host of other sites, in addition to my blog. I find I am on FB, Goodreads and Twitter the most, and yes, it does cut into my blogging/writing time, my personal time, and my life in general. But, while it is time consuming, I’ve met some wonderful online friends, am able to communicate with a host of family and friends on a daily basis which would be impossible if I spent time each day visiting or talking on the phone with as many. I’ve never been a phone person, but I love to meet friends for shopping, lunch, or whatever. I am a neat freak, so I rarely let it cut into my time to keep up with the house. Would I stare into space as suggested on the video? Probably not. I get antsy and would get up to do something else if not writing or visiting blogs.

  • I’ve been thinking exactly the same thing and have managed to deactivate my Facebook for a day. I find it incredibly unsettling not having it there though. I’ve developed a bit of a dependence on it which worries me slightly. I totally agree though. I try and switch my phone off for a couple of hours each evening now and try and spend bus journeys just gazing out of the window as I miss having the time to just let my mind wander and be free. Great blog! Thank you for sharing 🙂 Luke

  • Rhonda says:

    Excellent post! I, too, find social media detracts from my inner peace. When I’m feeling anxious and stressed, I can usually tie it to the amount of time I’m looking at a screen, whether it be my computer, my phone, or the television. It’s time for a detox on my end as well. 🙂

  • mukul chand says:

    Great post .

  • Hi Damyanti.

    Thanks so much for visiting ACT Made Lyrical. Now I have followed you home and I am so glad that I did! I can see that I am going to love your blog! I have started blogging again after a year’s break and I can’t believe how much things have changed in that time. I feel like a complete novice again and will be very glad to read your posts on blogging. As for social media, again I am a complete beginner, or almost, just dipping my toes into the water years after some of you “old hands” seem to be taking a backward step! Again I shall read with interest because my overwhelming feeling at the moment is to feel overwhelmed.

    I look forward to keeping in touch.

    Corinne

    • Damyanti says:

      Hi Corinne, welcome back to the blogiverse, and I’m sure you’ll find your feet again soon. Relax, have fun, and interact. You’ll feel less overwhelmed in no time. I think you’ve already made a fab beginning 🙂

  • Social media has changed the way we look at things from a writing perspective and given us such a huge platform. On the flip side, many of us need detox from the chaos social media has provoked.

  • Writing is my hobby rather than a profession so I use WordPress for that purpose and stories posted are automatically picked up on FB and Google for the sake of those of my friends who use those media. However the IPhone is strictly a convenience to send and receive calls and not a plaything now. Texting is out as I want to have a life to explore the artistic things of life. My IPad is strictly for business too. At one stage I got caught up with the games thing and realized it took away creativity so stopped that. All these things are useful, but when they control you rather than you control them they become a time wasting snare.:)

    • Damyanti says:

      I need to curb my social media excesses a bit– and I’m with you on cutting out anything that curbs creativity!

  • mterrazas32 says:

    I’ve been trying to reduce my social media present. Am already on my second week of deactivating my facebook account. I just find it becoming more useless in my life just because the majority of my friends don’t communicate with me and me with them. A lot of them don’t live in the same city as I do. I don’t have a twitter or a smartphone for similar reasons. I do blog and find that enough for me, and again my facebook friends have no interest what I say or post.

  • Roly Andrews says:

    I love to research, think and write. Although I hate the process of trying to peddle my work afterward. I find using social media to support this dry and soulless. Thanks for the blog, it was great to examine how I truly feel about social media.

  • Interesting. I only blog at my desk, so if I am outside the house, I might check my personal emails on my phone, but I don’t get my public (blog) mails on it. Yes, it does reduce my writing time, but I also find it has taught me some new styles and facets of writing. Reading is still unaffected, I think. Off on holiday now, so no blogging for ten days!

  • Chris says:

    Social media is less of what we do and more of how others perceive us. If people refuse to admit whether or not it’s about the feedback they get, I ask them “would you still use social media if there was no like or comment feature?”

  • I find it hard to admit. But, social media is my drug. It’s mind numbing. I love it. Tumblr has to be my favorite. The hours I have wasted there. My mom says my world is fake. I agree. It’s my fake world, and so I am the queen.

    I need a social media detox desperately.

  • Very true. There is a book by name ‘The end of absence’ on the same topic. Yet another is ‘Unfriending my ex’. Both are good and help open several eyes.

  • You are right striking a balance is the solution

    But it is not that simple.

  • Sarah-Jayne says:

    I totally agree with you. I created a blog about it before after sitting horrified on a date when a couple ahead of us didn’t come off of their phones for the whole date.

    With this in mind, I spent a day without my phone and loved it. I don’t know if I could do it everyday as I have become a bit of an addict but I am trying to enjoy the moments as I am in them rather than see them through a phone screen. Primarily, as I’ve just started a Facebook page off for my blog, avoiding it is..well…unavoidable but I have definitely tried to tone it down.

    Great post – thank you!

  • Tony says:

    Well said!!..having said that, I love walking down the street…. I’m on my own, it’s a great feeling…. sure there are people about but they’ve been eaten by their smartphones and are now empty husks blowing along the street…. like the tumbleweed in the westerns. Or maybe like Zombieland…. but with navigation sensors…if I walk at someone who’s in their phone, they veer off without looking up… remarkable…p’raps they’re on satnav?

  • You are just too right. I am planning a social media detox too.. It makes you feel good and focussed.

  • Shannon says:

    This is great, because I think it’s applicable to an extremely large number of people. I’ve noticed in myself a shorter attention span as well along with less reading. I moved away from my friends and family, so social media plays a big role in keeping me in contact with them, but it also serves as a time waster for me. I think the best thing I can do for myself is to put it aside when I’m just using it to kill time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

  • tizzypotts says:

    I totally agree with this. I enjoy blogging, but I spend way too much time on Facebook, which is time I could spend writing or reading. It’s hard to keep a good balance.

  • Peter Nena says:

    The only time my eyes are glued to my cell phone screen is when I’m playing Scrabble. And that happens only when I have time to spare. If I want to browse the Net or read a document, I use my laptop. I don’t understand the social media craze. Some days I see everyone around me looking at their phones and I wonder what I miss. Some days I board a bus and my seatmate looks up only once to pay his fare. Yet when I browse the Net I don’t find that I missed much.

  • Julia Lund says:

    I pulled right back on social media this summer and have felt the benefit. There are so many drains on time and energy already and it’s all too easy to find the 2 mins here and there eating away at time and concentration. Like you, my reading time has diminished and writing is squeezed. I need to address that.

  • oshrivastava says:

    Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole.

  • Well written article. Great video/poem. Social Media is part of what I do in our business so it’s a little hard to walk away from it. I do however plan my times when I’m on it for business.

    With personal use I find I end up using it subconsciously sometimes and then have to stop myself. I’m aiming to go back to accessing Facebook e.g. only 3-4 times a week (on a personal basis) like I used to, though I didn’t have it on mobile devices back then… I think my reading habits have suffered with SM as well and I’m taking steps to reclaim that precious reading time as well.

    Am endeavouring to spend less time on it on weekends/weeknights these days and devote more time to my other interests.

  • Ruth2Day says:

    I couldn’t agree more also. Social media should be called anti-social media.

  • Lata Wonders says:

    I couldn’t agree more. Social Media can take over one’s life. Detox is ergo very important. There are ways though. My family has recently acquired a weekend home. We have decided a no TV, no Internet policy for the place. As a result, the family actually looks out of the window and each other..

  • Dazrahe says:

    A very interesting topic, although I’m not entirely sure if my lack of enthusiasm about social media is because of my age or my self-proclaimed laziness. I guess for me trying to determine what role it has in my life would be based on my definition of it, and for some reason I don’t think I have an actual grasp of the concept. Would this be limited to just Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (which I don’t have) or am I missing something here? I’ve only been able to really maintain minimal interest of Facebook because most people I know and am related to have it, but I don’t have many “friends” and mainly use it to read news – which thanks to the many changes it’s undergone I don’t get. I’m not going to get started on my take on media. I don’t think I interact much either way, I’ll think about saying something, then think I really don’t want to deal with others’ comments and go off onto something else. I think this may be my largest response to anything to date.

  • A very good post on a very relevant topic.

    I have started viewing social media as an utility like gas or electricity. I am sure no one obsesses over either gas or electricity now, whereas when it was introduced 100 years agi people would have fidgeting with their light switches entire day.:)

    Here are my answers:
    What role does social media play in your life? Very little.
    What social media are you part of? Facebook, a little. Twitter, even less. Don’t even understand Pinterest.
    What needs does it fulfill? Hard to say. For me, self-aggrandizement maybe 🙂
    Do you primarily interact with your friends online or offline? Offline wherever possible.
    Do you think you need a social media detox? Yes, even with my limited social media interaction, I feel I do. Earlier I could read 3 hours at a stretch without a break. Now I need breaks to check my email every 15 minutes.

    Thanks!

  • Archana Kapoor says:

    oh yes, I really think I need one – not completely, but a drastic reduction where I can focus on the other beautiful things in life… to a large extent I have started doing it too… and enjoying some me time 🙂

  • There’s no doubt it causes attention deficit increase. I go to write and get dragged into what otheres want me to see. Recently my tablet died. I had no option but to buy an exercise book and use a pen. It was great , I wrote so much that was basically good in such a short period. I think we need discippline to get the best of it, but its also hard to achieve.

  • mdellert says:

    I’m a reluctant social media hound. If it were up to me, I’d catch up with my friends face to face over a cup of good coffee or fine wine. But I’m an indie writer, and getting my work out into the marketplace means finding media through which to promote my work. I can’t take everyone of my potential readers out for coffee. So for me, SM started out as a means to an end. That being said, I’ve met some terrific people in the process, and I cherish those new relationships (Hi Damyanti!) for bringing me closer to people I could never possibly hope to meet without it. I’m primarily active on Facebook (fb.me/mdellert.editor) and Twitter (@MDellertDotCom), and Damyanti exhorts me to do more with my Google+. As a means of bringing attention to my work, I’ve had some modest success so far, but it comes at the cost of a lot of time and energy. I would love to do a detox, but the gains I’ve made in the last several months would, I think, evaporate quickly without continued nurturing. Friendships of any kind require engagement and attention in order to flourish.

  • bsylent says:

    This is spot on. I am actually currently on a social media detox for this very reason. I first noticed problems a few years ago when I would be on a site on my computer, then open an app to another social media site on my phone, jumping back and forth with the attention span of a child. My mind was starting to feel a little too frantic, frayed and unfocused. I did a detox at that time for a month, and since I implement one whenever I feel my brain losing its ability to focus. My concern is that while this band-aid method of taking a break helps in the short term, I fear the long-term effects may be more permanent: short attention spans, poor memories, and finding increasing difficulty in honing my ability to sit and just write (and do NOTHING else).

    Ten days into my sabbatical from the social interwebs (except for wordpress where I am keeping a record of this month of ‘productivity’) and the difference has been profound. I have written more since I started this on the 1st of September than in the previous three months (at least!). In addition I have actually maintained a workout regime, increased my reading time, and have had the focus to pursue some of my other hobbies. I feel that if and when I return to the facebooks and reddits and pinterests that plague my focus so, I will need to find a way to temper my interaction with them. Time limits per day? per week? Either way, I have to do something, or it will just suck me back into being unfocused and unproductive all over again.

  • Kelee Morris says:

    I meant “own a smart phone”, but it may have been a Freudian slip.

  • Kelee Morris says:

    I mentioned social media in my blog yesterday. I’m totally addicted to it, which is one of the reasons I don’t owe a smart phone. When I’m commuting to work on the train or waiting to pick up a kid, I pull out my laptop instead and actually do some writing.

  • Social media time, important to sell our books but surely good life brings forth good books too!

  • bamauthor says:

    You are correct. Plus, the larger that net grows, the more we are inextricably pulled into it. The analogy of a spider web comes to mind.

  • I started using Facebook as a platform to practice writing. I built a website because I knew I was going to start a business someday. Well, that someday happened, and I work from home now.

    I use social media to share about my life lived through God and for marketing. It seems like all marketing is done through social media in this generation, so I stay with it.

    So much good has come out of my social media journey. If it begins to become an idol, I realize it and realign with God.

    Great writing!

  • I absolutely agree that obsessive use of social media (hardware and attendant software) is a drug and overuse is detrimental to one’s mental, spiritual (think imaginative), and perhaps even physical health. I know that’s a lot, but what can I say? Ironically, as you mentioned we’re using the medium to well, complain about the medium. Like a few others, I hate FB, but I’m on it. I have a cell but mostly to communicate with my wife and family members. I am right now using a Microsoft Surface with cordless keyboard. I love it because I can easily move it out here onto the porch and go! I’m retired so that mitigates a number of issues. I have time to read, a pastime I absolutely love. I was a college prof/administrator for 37 years and yeah, my reading suffered greatly when I moved out of the classroom. I’m old school so it’s easy enough for me to sit on the porch for hours and stare at the woods, literally. It’s amazing what comes one’s way when one sits and waits. I agree totally with dweezer19 when it comes to Photography, one must be patient. Of course the same is true for writing. Sometimes you simply must sit still–for hours.

    This is a Great post! Thank you!

  • Amazing Video and write up! Could connect instantly!

  • Six years ago I wasn’t on social media either. It has introduced me to a lot of really cool people and opportunities. I do make time for real life though. Going out with my wife, hanging with friends, jamming with my band, and doing things with my church. It keeps me grounded.

  • I totally agree.
    I think I need all screen-related things detox.

  • Dan Antion says:

    Much of my social media is just another form of communication. It takes the place of some phone calls, or emails and it helps me take a short break from other tasks. Sometimes, those breaks are helpful and necessary. Sometimes they are a distraction so I avoid the social stream for hours on end some days. I think I am most likely to turn to Twitter for a quick fix. I can peck something out or look at a few tweets. I use lists so that I can filter what gets presented to me and slow the volume down to a manageable level. If I start getting too much noise, I trim my “Daily” list. I am ruthless about avoiding ads.

  • RSAGARCIA says:

    Oh I could definitely use a detox. I like Twitter well enough, but loathe Facebook, so I’m always forgetting to update it and watching my interactions go down lol. My blog can be fun, but there’s so much pressure to do it regularly. I should really just take a sabbatical and focus on finishing my novels, but then I fear the book I have out won’t sell. Decisions, decisions…

  • dweezer19 says:

    Agreed on all points. That is why I love photography. For me it is a form of meditation. For those moments I am at one with nature. Frankly I am tired of media “banter” and long for good, deep conversations lkie I stil have with my sons and a couple of dear friends.

  • ccyager says:

    I’ve begun to limit my time on social media. I’m on Facebook where I stay in contact with friends and family, and I have 2 pages I use to promote my writing and blogs. I use Twitter for writing promotion. I use LinkedIn for professional connections. I’m also on GoodReads and consider that also social media — I’m there because I’m a writer and a reader, and I need to promote my writing there. When I’m commuting to and from work, I read print books on the bus. Other people have their smartphones out, their tablets or laptops. The buses now have free WiFi. I do not own a smartphone, tablet, iPod or anything else with which I could access the internet easily away from my home computer.

    What I’ve really noticed is that the computer and the internet do tend to take up a lot more time than before. Marketing my writing on the internet is part of being a writer nowadays and it takes a lot more time than I’d like. I began writing before PCs were plentiful and I used an IBM Selectric III typewriter. It kept me very focused on the writing……

  • John Hric says:

    living with change and finding the new balance are all part of life. the participation in social media is there for a reason. we all find some value – whether it is expression and sharing of our private thoughts or other elements of communication. and it comes at a cost in time and energy. and potentially more communication. and so a new balance must be reached. eventually we feel the cost and adjust our lives to the value to be gained. i guess, detox is a bit stronger word than i would apply. still both detox and balance are in the same whirlpool. it all depends if one’s perspective is from the relatively calm outer edge. or the much more intense rotation of the inner cone.

  • I pulled the plug on FB. I’d like to pull the Twitter plug, but I won’t. I like the connections and information I get through blogs. But all of social media trains us to respond positively when we get “likes” and negatively when we hear crickets. The crickets can be demoralizing. Seriously demoralizing. Social media makes it makes it hard to live our lives without constantly seeking affirmation from others. Hence the need to pull the plugs.

  • K.S. Schultz says:

    Thank you touching on your attention span for reading. I thought I’d developed ADD at this late stage, but this snap media culture that I am living in makes even a 750 word blog post seem long and I am not reading as many books as I used to. I think an unplugged day is just what I need.

  • I still don’t have a smart phone — only the primitive talk-only cell for my work. I look with sadness at those clustered around lunch tables, all eyes bent on their phones, ignoring those just inches from them.

    There have scientific studies that show that our mental focus is shrinking due to all the cyber use. I still read and listen to many audiobooks since I drive so much.

    Silence. In my latest book (I will not cyber-bomb you with the title!) my hero mourns how the while man cannot abide it while it is the source of the inner strength and reflection every two-legged needs.

    Great post today. 🙂

  • jessmbaum says:

    It helps to take a day off and unplug once a week. I try to do it every week, doesn’t always work, but it def helps me keep myself focused.

  • wwannwrites says:

    Social media is a vialuable tool to help me promote my writing, and engage with other like minded people. I don’t use it as often as many people do, but I have a bunch of automated tweets going out, so I don’t have to be on twitter constantly. While I was on vacation, I didn’t even interact much on social media, I looked a little here and there, but I literally took a vacation. I don’t believe I need a social media detox.

  • I loved the video. I use social media but I like to think it doesn’t use me. I absolutely hate being out to eat with people who are always on their phones. It makes me feel uninteresting.

  • It’s funny to me how many of us are asking ourselves these questions and seeking that balance. My writing is going so slowly and my reading is a quarter what it was – all because I spend more time on social media. Efficiency only gets us so far, so ultimately it comes down to choices we can live with….I’m waiting for the magic potion that will extend my day by about 4 hours 🙂

  • Tim Kimber says:

    I wrote about social media today, and its use in promoting shape-shifting otter romance…

    I hope you don’t mind me leaving it here!

    http://wp.me/p5oJ31-nV

    • Damyanti says:

      Went and RTed your post 😉 . Well, I’m guilty of using roundteam, but I do it for only one hashtag, and no one has used #writing to pedal the stuff you mention, yet. No auto DMs, and I do chat on twitter, though as you can see, I’m trying to do less of it!

      • Tim Kimber says:

        Ha ha. Thanks for the RT. Yeah, I think #writing is definitely a safer tag.

        Chatting on Twitter is what it’s for, as long as you’re engaging in a meaningful way, which I don’t think you can if you have someone do it for you. Anyway, my two cents. Thanks again!

  • writenlive says:

    I thought I did not need a social media detox. I am not on fb or twitter. I only have a blog and I do not go crazy checking notifications or stats. BUT, smart phones and any kind of online activity does lead to a distracted state of mind and a propensity to multi task. It is true that life is passing us by just when we are downloading pics or talking to online friends.

  • Good video. I’ve saved it for my MS students. That picture of the woman–perfect with her hunched shoulders and fixed expression.

    Personally, I don’t obsess, but I know so many who do. Good post.

  • shoreacres says:

    One need Twitter fulfills is the ability to send short, direct messages. You never know what you’ll find in those DMs!

  • I need a detox. This promotional kick I’m on isn’t going to end until mid October. The projects will change, but it’s wearing me thin. I need to go into a cave somewhere for a month.

  • I try to keep a balance that’s why I run.