I love to write. This is no secret. I have kept paper journals/diaries for more years than I can count. I wrote and passed notes in school like a pro. I kept up with correspondence and loved nothing more than to open the mailbox and see a letter waiting for me. Most times I would sit down and start responding to said letter immediately after reading it. Sending cards was a specialty…I could go in Hallmark and find just the right card for any occasion and mail it out immediately, acknowledging everyone’s moments in life.
Then this thing called email showed up. Oh how I was enchanted. I could type out my correspondence and it would get to the recipient immediately! No more having to wait days for a letter to appear in my mailbox, I could have replies within hours. That little electronic mail system became my primary way of keeping in touch with people. I could send greetings to acknowledge your occasions without having to go to Hallmark. I could share good or bad news in a moment. I discovered instant messenger, chat rooms, message boards, and Live Journal. My hand writing days of writing were over!
I noticed here and there that I was slacking off in the area of keeping in touch with friends and family, but would try to rectify the situation. But another new and shiny thing was put in front of me: Social Media! Blogging (I guess I never really considered Live Journal a blog as mine is locked and private)! MySpace! Facebook! Oh how easy it was to keep up with everyone on these sites. I mean, I could see my friend’s vacation photos in minutes without having to wait for a letter with pictures or an email detailing what happened. I knew via updates what was going on to the minute in their lives.
But here is the problem with that…it caused the loss of the personal feel to it. Because everything was so readily available people started to get lazier in the personal contact field of life. And why not, you already knew everything so why bother emailing, texting, calling, or heaven forbid writing someone to ask how they were doing, how their vacation was, how their children are.
And now we have Twitter. I’m so immensely twitterpated!! I love that little site with the 140 character limit to it. However, there is also a big downside to Twitter. I have slacked off even more in the correspondence, Live Journaling, and Blogging. I don’t even visit Facebook as much (and MySpace…I don’t even know if I know my password anymore) because I have Twitter and I can give updates frequently and save time because it is limited to so few words. Emails sit for weeks in my email in box (or as Jeania can vouch, two months. So shameful) without me responding to them. Live Journal goes without updates and I plan to post on the blog daily but often find myself skipping it as well. The procrastinator in me loves to point fingers at Twitter for this!
But let’s be honest…I’m Queen of Procrastinating and my reign is tyrannical. I have no plans to stop tweeting, of course. But the words that are swimming in my brain are getting impatient and looking to get out more often, instead of having to be squished down to 140 characters on a timeline.
(How cute is this little guy? He is my new Procratinating mascot!)
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