Experience - Social Chastity - Week 1

This has been by far, the single most difficult of all the challenges. Well, perhaps difficult is not the right word, considering I actually managed to adhere to this one. But it IS the most annoying. Going into this one I was confident I would be able to stick-to-it without much adversity, just minor annoyance at the fact I was not able to warn my friends with whom I communicate exclusively online that I would no longer be on (for a week, anyway), or why. However, facebook and IM proved much stronger a pull on me than I had expected.

Even on the first night, I had to repeatedly remind myself NOT to log into facebook or Trillian. In my typical habit, I will log straight into Trillian after turning on the computer (or simply have it running all day if I’m running various other programs on the computer anyway), and then go to facebook to check for my friends’ status updates—though sidebar, I will confess not having to see constant updates about peoples podling hellspawn was a nice side-effect of this whole endeavored. I’m not saying I ‘hate’ children; I just don’t care enough about yours to be stoked every time I see they are taking a nap. I probably barely care enough about YOU to care if you are taking a nap. But I’m rambling—which is a quick, easy way I like to keep in touch with casual acquaintances, friends from high school, etc. You do not have to invest a lot of time or effort into it, but it can still be fun to drop the occasional one liner, or “hey, how’ve you been” every month or so. Not being able to IM was the worse, however.

I use Instant Message to talk with … well, pretty much everyone (including Brad). I may actually chat more than I text (which is saying something). It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s to the point, and I don’t have to have awkward phone conversations. When there’s a long silence on IM, it’s cool. Maybe they went to get a drink of water or something. You aren’t left sitting there wondering why it’s suddenly gone so quiet. Also, you can have a quick chat while doing other things (checking your bank account, looking at porn, ordering more books off amazon, etc—the second of which is SUPER awkward to try and do while actually talking with someone, fyi).

To bring this Sudafed/Dayquil induced rambling to a close, what I learned from all this is I’m an addict. I’m addicted to text based communications technology. And while that’s a nifty thing to have, it can actually break down ones ability to converse with another human being on a basic fucking level—and I freely admit, it’s a lot easier, and less intimidating to chat with someone online, than it is face-to-face.