In all honesty, I long for a simpler time. A time when there was no internet, when people actually relied on face-to-face communication, or at the very most, picked up a telephone and dropped a line (instead of an email). A time where people didn't feel the need to tell followers or e-friends when they are taking a deuce, and how many flushes it took to get it down.
Facebook and now, to a greater extent, Twitter, have, for the most part, taken over my life. It's easier to type that if I blame all the free time that temporary unemployment has provided me. Last night I found myself in a needlessly back-and-forth Twitter argument about whether the Alex Ovechkin hit on Brian Campbell was dirty or not, and I realized something. This is stupid. What am I doing? Twitter is turning me into something I loathe. A cynical asshole.
Now, I realize the importance of social media in terms of business and advertising and so on in today's culture. Businesses need to embrace things like Twitter, or risk missing out on a very significant demographic. But I hate that about the world today. Instead of picking up the phone to call a client, we email. Instead of knowing and interacting with our neighbours, we hide online and try to find all the information we can about them there. Much easier than getting to know them offline.
So I am vowing to spend far less time on social media sites like Facebook, and especially Twitter. All they really are are procrastination tools. From now on, the majority of time I spend on the net will revolve around fantasy sports, just like the good old days.
After all, its spring now. I am already wearing shorts on a regular basis. I dream of golf. I dream of fishing. I dream of going to a Jays game this year and not feeling the need to rush to my computer right after and Tweet about it or read a blog about it.
I dream of the simple life.
