Embargo

The experiment lasted a bit over a week: nine days, to be exact. On Friday 27 July I stopped using social media.

My quick and dirty definition included Twitter, RSS feeds, and Etsy. I allowed myself to look at Flickr, but no posting. (I did use Yammer at work but only because the week of the embargo seemed to coincide with a minor renaissance of Yammer usage at MPOW. I only allowed myself to post or comment in the mornings and did not allow myself to look at the site throughout the day.) To help myself, I deleted Tweetbot from my phone, switched off all alerts on my iPad, and installed Leechblock on my browser at work.

On Sunday 5 August, I lifted the ban – started easy, just let myself look at a few RSS feeds.

Why on earth would I do such a drastic thing, you ask? It all started because I wanted to find a way to filter out, as much as possible, mentions of that sporting event, the Olympics. It proved a bit too fiddly. I didn’t want to use new apps or lists or change my habits too drastically.

So I told myself to just grit my teeth and bear it, and ignore it as much as possible. Then I wondered: “How would I go if I had very limited access to information and news?”

It seemed like it would be an interesting exercise, to try and see what would happen if I didn’t use all my usual tools. (Yes, I know I contradicted myself here: I said I didn’t want to change my habits too drastically – then I changed my habits really drastically.)

The only news I had was the news on the radio (ABC Classic FM) before going to work. (I wasn’t going to read a newspaper – that would have been TOO drastic.)

I kept notes in my paper journal over the last week. On the first day:

I’m missing it BADLY already. Making myself listen to music (really listen), observe people, listen to my thoughts (I have to actually THINK…

We’ll see how I go.

I hope to read more. Write more. Sit with myself more. Get more work done? Break the Etsy habit?

I wasn’t particularly successful in the plan to write more, although I did scribble more on my journal from time to time. I definitely got more work done – I was surprised at this. I know this is because I didn’t have any distractions during the day. I found I had little desire to sit at my computer (outside of work time) or use my phone or iPad. I definitely read a lot more (I think a book a day or every two days). I know Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 really well now.

Later in the week:

Life sans social media is very boring and seems very unidimensional.

I’m still getting a lot (in my eyes) of Olympics news when I listen to the news on ABC Classic FM but not a lot of anything else. [The screaming commentator at 5am everyday announcing some medal or other was very painful and irritating to put up with.] My news is restricted to mainstream media websites at the moment, and the radio news, and it’s very limited…

There’s only one “version” (at least that’s how it feels) and very little discussion or commentary. [I’m sure I could have searched out the commentary, given that I didn’t ban myself from reading news sites, but I found I didn’t have the inclination or want to make the time to look for things. Twitter is such a good filter.]

This is the point where I found it completely ludicrous. If I really wanted to avoid Olympics news, keeping myself limited to traditional mainstream media meant that I was actually force feeding myself nothing but Olympics news. What was I not hearing or learning about?? How do people who only rely on traditional mainstream media cope? With traditional mainstream media, you just get what you’re given. I’ve gotten so used to having information from many sources.

Oh, and of course I also missed my PLN!

It wasn’t all bad. The positives:

I did get more work done (but this is not down to social media as such, but me minimising distractions. I am keeping Leechblock on my work browser).

Not having my iPhone as a distraction, I had to Be There at dinner. No browsing, tweeting etc. Again, just bad habits that can be avoided.