Slow Communication and Playing Catch-Up: What If you Don’t Go On-Line for a Day, Week, or Month?
On BBC radio last Sunday morning, I caught the end of a commentary. The gist was that social networks are transforming culture into a cacophony where everyone’s talking and no one’s listening. Hmmm…
Many of us have to be on-line every day. Or, do we really? This summer, I didn’t expect not to post on my blog for nearly two months (June - August). It just happened. Had I planned this in advance, I would have worried and weighed pros and cons. Because I didn’t I couldn’t. Did I miss not being there? Not especially. Did anyone else miss me not being there? I doubt it… Am I glad to be back to feeling the digital draw and roar/obligation. I’m not sure… I know I’m fighting it, unconsciously, if not consciously.
Time spent in the real world in real time has greater significance. However, it is too easy to be caught up with what most everyone else seems to be doing (or feeling obligated to do), even when it’s not entirely comfortable personally. Websites, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, we didn’t grow up with them. Now, my blog posts, since the spontaneous summer break, will be less abundant. Nothing wrong with that! Cliché as it might sound, less is usually more.
A Wall Street Journal Article, right on time, also from last weekend, explains what’s been swirling in my head. The article is by John Freeman and entitled, Not So Fast: Sending and receiving at breakneck speed can make life queasy; a manifesto for slow communication.
