There is, once again, a convergence of events taking place in the blogging world. Well, to me, there is.
In the same week that Cecily decided to tally up her social media consumption, and go on a social media diet, Mama Kat chose a weekly writing prompt (#2) that asked: If social media disappeared tomorrow, what would I take on to fill my time?
The answer to that is easy, folks: Hell if I know!
Okay, all snark aside, I have no idea what new hobby I might pick up to bide the time normally given to social media and blogging. Figuring it up in my head, I’m betting that I spend the better part of twenty hours on social media and reading/writing blog posts in a given week. Twenty hours! I know that compared to some, that’s just a drop in the bucket, but for me, I cannot even begin to imagine the possibilities that would come with twenty extra hours per week.
To top it all off, I bet I’m lowballing my time spent online, too.
Maybe my house would be clean? Maybe I would have learned to cook by now? Maybe the den wouldn’t be the place in the house where dirty laundry goes to be ignored?
Maybe I would give more attention to my husband. Maybe I would play more with my children. Maybe I would write novels, or be in perfect shape, or volunteer my time. The options are overwhelming me.
I could not say that I would read more or scrapbook more, because that currently is where you are likely to find me if I am not online, at work, or sleeping.
Maybe I would improve my grammar. That would be time well spent. Although, I wouldn’t be blogging, so my poor grammar would not be as evident. Dang it! Could I even escape social media, now that its claws are firmly embedded into my life? Several years ago I joined Facebook for the sole purpose of playing Oregon Trail (oh, how I love that game from my childhood), and now I cannot possibly imagine a life where I wasn’t writing blog posts or trying to think up witty things to say on Twitter.
What was I doing with all of my free time back then? As I search my memory, I actually am seeing those wavy line delineating flashbacks in movies…
Before I joined the Space of My and the Book of Face back in 2006, where did I spend my time? Oh! I remember! I was in Grad School. So, that doesn’t count.
Before I was in Grad School, how did I spend my free time? Oh, that’s right, I did not have any free time! I had Ant, who despite being a baby at the time, was doing things. Like climbing on everything (ten months) and refusing to nap (much earlier than that). Ever. That child never sleeps, I swear. Which is good, since I’m certain he would quickly gain dominance over the world, mastermind that he is, if he was capable of catching forty winks.
Plus, I was part of the whole Pregnancy.org group, and I believe that this still constitutes social media.
And before Ant? What did I do? Think, Sarah, think! That was twenty extra hours a week!
I have these vague memories, but it’s hard to see so far back. Plus, I was young. I think—but I cannot be certain—I think that I used to go and do things. And see people. Yes, I have the distinct impression that we used to go out, and other people would be there. Yet… something tells me that sometimes we stayed in. Perhaps people came to our house when we stayed in. I’m not certain; it’s all so fuzzy.
I think if social media were to die tomorrow, I would try my hand at that. Going out and doing things and seeing people, that is. Not remembering. Memory is such a sketchy thing to begin with, and I hate it when my head hurts.
Sarah’s Guide to Living after Social Media:
1) Cry
2) Collect yourself
3) Go out
4) Do things
5) See people
6) Discuss
7) Repeat
This post was written in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop!
This post was written in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop!
I love your writing - fun! And keep up the snark!
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