playing catch-up

So, after 4 weeks of barely any facebook, I am finally trying to catch up with the facebook messages (all 32 of them-and that's after reading and deleting some), emails and blogging that I have missed for the time being. I am totally overwhelmed by the love people show me, Mike and little Jack. But I am overwhelmed by "catching up". And on top of all the catching up I am doing on Facebook, I (daily) get a new "so and so is now following you on Twitter". Do I tweet? No. I set up an account a year ago and haven't touched it since. BUT I feel this overwhelming urge to now update my Twitter account since I am letting down so many people.

After a long, exasperating time of debating on whether I should add Twitter to my addiction to social networking, I read this interesting article. Online sociability fatigue, as they called it in the article, is growing, even in the Gen X-Gen Y market. We are getting tired of keeping up to keep up.

"A recent survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 45 percent of Americans in all age groups are enthusiastic about socializing via computer and mobile devices. Meanwhile, 48 percent are indifferent to Internet social networks, overwhelmed by gadgets or often avoiding Internet use altogether.

Perhaps most surprising was the presence of a group that fell in between -- the remaining 7 percent of the survey. These people, who had a median age of 29, are savvy about social networks and always carry mobile devices -- and yet they feel conflicted about staying in constant contact. Pew called them "ambivalent networkers."

I am an "ambivalent networker". I am conflicted about staying in contact. I want to be in contact with everyone. I don't want to miss out on anything. But is it really that important that I get so-and-so's twitter update? And let's face it-our addiction to social networking is probably not healthy. All the time we spend online could be spent elsewhere-with our friends, family, hobbies. Why carve out time for real relationships if we have facebook? It can create a false sense of community (not always, but it can). I was just telling someone that I don't want to go to my high school reunion...because i know what everyone is up to, thanks to social networking. Why bother spending 70$ for a get together when you can read about the people on their profile?

It also plays into our psychological side, if we are too busy, we cannot work on the things we need to work on. We can't even unplug long enough to figure out if we need any adjusting. Why bother looking internally? You can turn off any internal need for change this way. I think this plays into our spiritual lives as well. If we are too busy, we can't carve time out for God. I know I have spent too much time online and not enough time in all of these areas.

So, if I don't answer back on Facebook or Blogger, you know why. I am needing a breather (and taking care of a newborn). Taking a break. But don't think I don't love you. Just being in constant contact is really hard to do.