One week left: steering clear of social media (most of the time)

I'm one week away from completing the Challenge I Never Thought I'd Take: giving up social media for a whopping 40 days.

Does it seem a little dramatic to call stepping away from social media a "challenge?"

Yes. It does.

Even though my work has included social media for the past 10 years, it's still a little....silly....to think of taking a 40-day break as, well, a break.

But whether I like it or not, I've come to grips with a few truths since making this decision the night of Fat Tuesday:

• The same principle applies to personal life as does to corporate accounts: the conversation is happening, and I can participate or not -- that's up to me.
• Some things are, in fact, worth sharing. A few examples I've learned are:
• recipes
• workouts (so.much.encouragement!)
• random smiles throughout the day
• quotes -- I'm a sucker for a good quote 
• good sales (amirite, y'all?)
• Some things are not do-or-die in term of sharing. For instance:
• random things I see (is a beautifully framed image really viewed if it's not instagrammed?, is a meal really prepared and eaten if not shared socially?, etc.)
• I occasionally -- the instances have notably decreased, thankfully -- feel as though I need a little verification of how I'm feeling. (I liked that sunset, but do you? -- definitely the weirdest thing I've admitted to date ;-) 
• And some of my traits may not be, as I originally suspected, inborn:
• ADD -- this is not my making light of this disorder; this is my thinking all these years that I may have had a disorder and then having it affirmed...but only by the presence of social media. Whether or not ADD or ADHD was present in my life prior to social, semblances of it certainly are now.

This collage of Ringo spectacularly depicts my reactions to many aspects of social media. Love it! Hate it! Over it! What is it? Etc.

Also, while I have popped onto social a couple of times during my intentional intermittent season (hey Michael's bday + a couple of work instances), I have tried to keep myself from looking at notifications. I didn't think this would be major, but guess what! Other People's Opinions are a big part of the "social" in "social media" ;-)

But because I am unfortunately not superhuman, in spite of my absence, I have automatically veered to that little red number indicating who's saying what about my social presence...or lack thereof. And even when it's not what I'd prefer, I definitely have strong feelings about people having fun without me. (Hi, have you met me? I thrive on social instances...for better or for worse. :-P) 

A friend asked just recently what I'd do after Easter...if I'd rather ease back in or jump back in. And I'm honestly not sure. 

Since I don't have to be on 24/7, I may limit myself to once a week. Or, as I've already seen in my intended short intentions to jump back on to check one thing, I could wander and browse for 30 minutes before I realize what I'm doing.

Either way, I have one week left of assured reduced screen time and increased reading efforts. We'll see. ;-)

Confessions of a Social Media Addict

The night before Lent, I decided to give up social media for 40 days and nights.

I've considered it in the past, but since this is the first time in 10 years that being socially present isn't a necessity for my job, I could actually go through with it.

Y'all. I wasn't prepared.

A few epiphanies 9 hours in:

• I think I have legit, full-fledged Attention Deficit Disorder. This is not a drill. I'm serious. Why else would I do something for a little while -- let's say an hour, max -- and need to jump on another website or app to see what's happening while I've been away? 

• If a photo is not posted socially, was it ever really taken? #facepalm It's startling to realize how many of my life's snapshots are being captured with the primary intent to share rather than for my own preservation.

Photo by Rachael Crowe on Unsplash

More revelations one week later:

• I spend a lot of time on social media. Like...a LOT. Exhibit A: in the past week, I've read four books. That doesn't count podcasts listened to or articles consumed.

• I hadn't even thought about social media as a sharing outlet until my friend asked what outlet I was using during this fast. At the time, my answer was either "I'm not," or "Talking to people in real life." Today, I'm finally starting to feel an itch to write. I think that's a good thing. (Speaking of, and for the record, I also don't see blogging in my case as social media unless I obsess over comments or analytics, which I haven't had a problem with in the past.)

• Speaking of categorizing social media, did you know that iPhones put texting and Facebook in the same group? That's weird to me. I mean yes, I'm interacting with people, but I'm also choosing specifically who I want to share things with.

• I have been getting my news from Twitter. This actually became clear a couple of hours in when someone was talking about a current event that I had no idea had happened. Once I downloaded a few news apps and turned on some alerts, I then realized that I was itching to see what this reporter or that commentator had to say about news items. Weird.

And at the week-and-a-half mark:

• Today was probably the first structured event I've attended post-social fast. My typical M.O. is to capture great shots, tag appropriately, hashtag as needed, and share ASAP. Guess what? That's not requirement! (I know. Shocking.) So here's how said event went: We went. We talked to people. We walked around and saw the sights. We ate. We laughed. I took a few pictures when a view really struck me. We left. We ran an errand. We came home. I glanced back at my pics, but only to see if I got some really good ones, and even then I didn't share them with anyone (yet).
  
  No tagging businesses, people or event venues. No making sure I included all relevant hashtags. No picking up my phone at random during the event. 

All of this is freeing, and a little disturbing, and an extremely curious experiment of psychology and sociology. And a week and a half in, I'm thinking I'll adjust my social exposure much more, even once Easter comes.

All That Glitters.

Often a sucker for a shiny object, I was recently encouraged to apply to cover the Miss USA pageant that's being held in Baton Rouge Sunday, June 8, 2014.

Not expecting to hear back after submitting my social info, I was excited to learn from the Baton Rouge Social Media Association that I was selected as one of Visit BR's social ambassadors for the event!

The other ambassadors and I had our initial meeting a few days ago and have divvied up events the contestants will be at for the next couple of weeks until the pageant.

So if you see an unusual number of glitz and glamour-related posts on my social platforms, I'm still myself, just in sparkle mode until June 8.

If you'd like to join in the conversations, we're using the hashtags #MissUSA, #GoBR and #KrewedeCrown. You can find me at the following places:

• Twitter: @RJ0hn50n
• Instagram: @RJ0hn50n
• Pinterest: RJ0hn50n
• Facebook: facebook.com/rebekah.johnson1

Shine on!

5 Things I'm Thankful For (Re. Mobility, and Post-Weirdest Week EVER).

Five things I'm grateful for after what may be the oddest week in America and with what could be, to put it mildly, called some challenges with mobility, are:

1. Technology. I cut out cable a while back for cost purposes, but even if I'd had it, I'm not sure I'd have been glad to rely on it with so many errors as the Boston bombing events unfolded.
2. The Hidden Protectors. I'm so grateful for those beautiful first responders during these attacks, and those who were gracious and generous outside of their jobs, but I'm always more aware than ever during times like these of the people in our military and intelligence communities who give of their lives to protect our freedoms on a regular basis, so we don't have to see the ugliness we witnessed last week.
3. Safety. This might seem pretty obvious, but it's really something we take for granted. From keeping OSHA inspectors away to Boston bombers, there are many people who care less about our safety, and it makes me grateful for those who are on top of it.
4. Sunshine. Because life's better with brighter days.
5. Compassion. These times bring out the best and worst in us (terror on a grand scale, limited mobility on a MUCH smaller one), but compassion overrides that, and my cup overflows when I have it and when I receive it. 

Pray for Boston. Pray for Texas. Pray for Iraq. Pray for us all.

Not just hashtags on Twitter. Not just something to do last week.

Boston Commons, March 2007

Celebrate!

Even if we don't feel like it, there's always something to celebrate.

April is National Poetry Month, and the twittering brilliance of @brainpicker (Maria Popova) uncovers this lovely handwritten bit from 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë:

I’ve been wandering in the greenwoods
And mid flowery smiling plains
I’ve been listening to the dark floods
To the thrushes thrilling strains
I have gathered the pale primrose
And the purple violet sweet
I’ve been where the Asphodel grows
And where lives the red deer fleet.
I’ve been to the distant mountain,
To the silver singing rill
By the crystal murmering mountain,
And the shady verdant hill.
I’ve been where the poplar is springing
From the fair inamelled ground
Where the nightingale is singing
With a solemn plaintive sound.

Celebrate more "tiny verses on envelopes" here: http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/04/tiny-verses-on-envelopes-the-handwritten-poems-of-famous-authors/274784.

Follow Maria Popova on twitter at www.twitter.com/brainpicker.

Celebrate!

Even if we don't feel like it, there's always something to celebrate.

April is National Poetry Month, and the twittering brilliance of @brainpicker (Maria Popova) uncovers this lovely handwritten bit from 13-year-old Charlotte Brontë:

I’ve been wandering in the greenwoods
And mid flowery smiling plains
I’ve been listening to the dark floods
To the thrushes thrilling strains
I have gathered the pale primrose
And the purple violet sweet
I’ve been where the Asphodel grows
And where lives the red deer fleet.
I’ve been to the distant mountain,
To the silver singing rill
By the crystal murmering mountain,
And the shady verdant hill.
I’ve been where the poplar is springing
From the fair inamelled ground
Where the nightingale is singing
With a solemn plaintive sound.

Celebrate more "tiny verses on envelopes" here: http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/04/tiny-verses-on-envelopes-the-handwritten-poems-of-famous-authors/274784.

Follow Maria Popova on twitter at www.twitter.com/brainpicker.

#SilentWriters

Conveniently, now that it's Wednesday, I'm committing to join the #SilentWriters movement comprised of prose bearers everywhere who dedicate 60 minutes each Tuesday night to writing in silence.

My writing may not always turn up here, but at least some of it should.

There. I said I'd do it, and I will. Let's see what comes of this newfangled #silentwriting. :-)

30 Days of Thanksgiving.

If you're on Facebook or Twitter, you might've seen the "30 Days of Thanksgiving" trend popping up in your newsfeed. 


I know I already do the "5 things I'm grateful for" posts (kind of sporadically), but I am participating in the 30-day trend, and will try to update my blog weekly with each day's reason for thanksgiving throughout the month.




So far, my list includes:

• Day 30: I'm grateful for the chance to have gone places I've fallen in mad, eternal love with. DC, NYC, Boston, St. Louis...
• Day 29: I'm thankful for exposure to variety, and that it fascinates and compels me to do and be more.
• Day 28: Very grateful I haven't had foot issues forever & that I didn't deal w/ them during weddings or while traveling.
• Day 27: I appreciate every day and with deep fervor each of the broken roads that've led me straight to here.
• Day 26: Grateful for family who are also friends. 
• Day 25: Beyond thankful for grace -- God's and man's.
• Day 24: I'm so grateful to live in the land of the free. The ability to do, be & believe what I choose is a precious gift. 

Stay tuned for more. :-)

Happy Day, Earth!

Today is Earth Day.

I think whoever started it intentionally planned for it to be in the spring, when we're all so grateful to see green, and feel warmth, and be outside.

My sister reminded me of a very appropriate Scripture in her Facebook status:

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." I Corinthians 10:26 (New International Version)

 And my cousin makes a great statement via Twitter/Facebook:

"Real conservatives protect what God loves: babies, the poor, and the earth."

However you mark this day, be sure to enjoy God's handiwork! And consider how we might all respect it.