Monday, March 9, 2009

How much is too much?

So, I joined the Twitter cult today. They suggested at my last bible study meeting at Grace that we join twitter and follow one set up for our group so they could give us bible verses everyday. I can't for the life of me figure out how to link to them though, search though I have. Either way, I'm officially on Twitter now and trying to figure out exactly what it is! But this brings me to the point of this blog... just how available is too available?

I've always prided myself on staying up with the times (you know, for all 23 years now). From going to texting as a primary form of communication, to facebook as a way to keep up with friends I don't get to talk to via the phone regularly. To e-mail as a way to get in touch with work contacts and get more done faster. But just how far do we take this technology built to make us permanently available?

From facebook & myspace to texting & twitter - just when do we turn all of this stuff off and let the world survive without us? I got to wondering this after being woken up by a facebook alert sent via my facebook mobile account to my phone at 4am. How much is too much and have I hit that point?

It scares me to think you could really "be my friend" without actually ever spending any real face time with me. You could see me everyday on facebook and myspace. You could read what I'm doing every moment on twitter. You could read my blog to know more about my life, my work, my family, and my friends. E-mail while I'm at work or texting when I'm home. And isn't this similar to how our relationships get sometimes? We don't have time to spend with people so we maintain our friendships in much the same way that we use e-mail to get more work done faster. We let our computers (or phones) do the friendship leg work for us.

I went away this weekend and I set out to talk on my phone as little as possible. I didn't log on a computer to any of my internet sites, I took only phone calls from the friends I was with to locate them. And while I didn't stop texting for the weekend - it still felt like quite a nice break! So why don't I do this more often? The answer is - I don't know. But over the next week or two I'm going to purpose to spend more time talking to people on the phone or in person and less time at my computer virtually being a friend.

Love,
B

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love reading your blog. I can completely relate to what you said.. But it made me a bit sad, because I haven't had the priviledge to meet you face to face. We have not gotten to hang out, shop or eat at Steak and Shake.. yum. Anyway, If you are ever in Texas, Let me know. Maybe I could actually meet you face to face. I hope that makes sense.. Anyway, I enjoyed getting to know you over the years. And hope to continue our friendship. Thanks for always being so nice and wonderful to talk to. Plus, you really give great advice. Melissa

Becca Christensen said...

Hey girl hey! Thanks so much for the comment. And you know what, you TOTALLY count as a great friend even though were miles apart and can't shop together YET. But I'm down for changing that. You can come for a getaway to FL - or I'll come to Texas. My Dad actually has games there a couple times a year. So that wouldn't be too hard. : ] Let's work on that. - B