My recent time away was beneficial, and of the many thoughts that came to mind once I had an opportunity to think again was that I should find some way to disembark the social media train at the next station. It was a relief just to think it.
For years now I have harbored a secret fantasy of going off the grid and living a simple life in relative obscurity, and I’m pretty sure that fantasy is fueled by the complications produced by the time I have invested in social media. I’m not exactly sure what possessed a private person to lead a fairly public life, but I am pretty sure that it was not the smartest idea.
I had already dipped my toe in the water just a tiny bit. When the pandemic hit I upped my social media game and tried to post more content, telling myself that I was encouraging others. But when the deeply important racism conversation erupted—a conversation that I care about very much—I was soon exhausted and, to be candid, frustrated at rhetoric from a wide range of people that I love who vote differently from one another. So I shared less and less, and I wanted to see what others shared less and less, and I cared about social media less and less. So stepping away is no great sacrifice. It is more a move to maintain some measure of sanity.
And I get the irony that I am sharing this post on various forms of social media. Given my history, I felt it was kind to provide some type of notice.
There are positive attributes of social media, of course, which explains its ability to take over the world. But of the downsides, the most troubling may be the invitation to social comparison that has led to what Jonathan Haidt argues as the “decline of wisdom.” (Note: Haidt wrote “The Dark Psychology of Social Networks” in the December 2019 issue of The Atlantic—just before this crazy year began.) I kept trying to convince myself that I was aware of and immune to social media dangers, but I now confess that I was wrong.
This will be a work in progress, so the following is subject to change:
- I don’t plan to delete my Facebook or Instagram accounts (i.e., my primary drinks of choice), but I do plan to stop both posting and scrolling. Instead, I will simply use them as some sort of 21st century phone book and respond to messages.
- I don’t plan to stop my blog entirely, but I do plan to stop posting on a schedule, and I do plan to stop sharing my blog posts on Facebook. I will write and post when the feeling strikes and not worry about who sees what I write (for those who want to read what I write, you can sign up by email to receive the posts when they happen).
- Finally, I think I will keep sharing my running information with running friends on Nike Run Club and Strava as a little virtual running club, but if that ever turns into me trying to impress others, I’m out there, too.
That’s the plan for now. It is interesting how just the plan provides genuine stress relief.
“Social distancing” is the phrase of the year, of course, but I am employing “social media distancing.” If that catches on, trends, goes viral, or gets an incredible number of likes or retweets…well, to tell the truth, I don’t need to know.
Starting to Look Up 
I enjoy your writing. See my email below.
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Thanks! You can register your email address on the blog itself (startingtolookup.com), but I think I can add your email address if you send it to me at al.sturgeon@yahoo.com. Just let me know!
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Good for you! But I do love reading your blogging thoughts, so sign me up!
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Thanks! You can register your email address on the blog itself (startingtolookup.com), but I think I can add your email address if you send it to me at al.sturgeon@yahoo.com. Just let me know!
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Al, you always amaze me with your wisdom. I suspect your new plan will be wonderful for you. I often wondered how you must labor to produce something worthy each week ( you have, of course). I would like to receive your occasional blogs but don’t know how to email you now so hopefully this will make my request known.
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Thanks! You can register your email address on the blog itself (startingtolookup.com), but I think I can add your email address if you send it to me at al.sturgeon@yahoo.com. Just let me know!
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All I can say is I’m certainly glad that I receive your blog via my email account. 😊🙏🏻😊
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Hi…still want to hear from you ….
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Thanks! You can register your email address on the blog itself (startingtolookup.com), but I think I can add your email address if you send it to me at al.sturgeon@yahoo.com. Just let me know!
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I appreciate your blogs and would like to continue to receive them when you are moved to post one.
Thank you!
Susan Moreshead (David Moreshead’s Mom)
On Mon, Jul 13, 2020 at 5:10 AM Starting to Look Up wrote:
> Al Sturgeon posted: “My recent time away was beneficial, and of the many > thoughts that came to mind once I had an opportunity to think again was > that I should find some way to disembark the social media train at the next > station. It was a relief just to think it. For years n” >
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Thanks! You can register your email address on the blog itself (startingtolookup.com), but I think I can add your email address if you send it to me at al.sturgeon@yahoo.com. Just let me know!
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I’m signing up to receive an email when you blog and Grant is happy to have connected with you on Strava- glad you are keeping that. 🙂 We miss you and feel connected to you through these avenues. Of course, an in-person visit would be great, but even that must be put on hold for the moment. Take good care.
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We love and miss you all.
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Hi Al,
This is Kim Jones from Ocean Springs. Since I already was getting your blog in my email I didn’t think I had to do anything to continue receiving them, but I didn’t hear from you this week. 😟 What do I need to do?
❤️
Kim
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Hi, Kim! You might have missed that I said that I was no longer going to be writing on a schedule. So you haven’t missed anything because I haven’t written anything yet! Stay tuned. I’m sure that I will.
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