Mar 31, 2008 13:21
I love the Internet. Among other things, it's been a major force in both my social life and my lack of productivity since I first discovered it in the very early 90s.
Through email and Usenet I went from being an almost friendless hermit to meeting all sorts of interesting and wonderful people (plus many who weren't so great, but let's forget about them), and that was the start of something that completely changed my life for the better. Over the years I watched the Web become commonplace, virtually all of my friends became email-enabled, and then places like Livejournal became popular. I like the community that has sprung up around LJ, and I love that it is a way to stay in touch with people I wouldn't otherwise see (very often).
However, like any powerful tool, the 'Net has its dark side. I've lost countless hours - months, at this point in time - because of it. LJ is a two-edged sword because for every thoughtful, insightful, or otherwise interesting journal entry there are others consisting of drivel. And now that people have these Twitter feeds it means that every Twitter post is several nonsense one-liners that mean nothing to me and only waste more time.
I need to spend less time online but at the same time, I don't want to fall further out of touch with the friends that I do have. When I left irc because it took up WAY too much time, I pretty much lost contact with a whole group of people, which makes me sad. Still, I need to get better about moving away from my desk and doing other things. Non-computer things. Exercise should be one of them.
Hrmpf.
introspection,
retrospection