The blogging world is wonderful in so many ways, but it has at least one great danger: the danger of addiction. That danger is not so great with a blog like mine, where I post every few days and get only a smattering of comments. (Please, sir, may I have more?)
But as I've dropped in on some of the sites where Margaret occasionally blogs ("By Common Consent," etc.), I have encountered the dangers in active, vivid form. Of course, I wanted to read Margaret's moving blog essay (see the post preceding this one, below), and I wanted to comment on it. But soon a conversation began, with multiple parties, and I was writing little mini-essays of my own as my "comments." And I kept checking in to see what people said in response to my comments and in response to each other's comments and to respond to people's responses to my responses. In short, it got to be a problem. I'M SUPPOSED TO BE WRITING A BOOK!--and with the computer screen in front of me, the temptation is always there to check in on the blog conversation between and in the midst of other tasks.
And I have to confess, I got distracted by a couple of other conversations on "By Common Consent" and "Mormon Mentality" (see here, here, here, here, here, and here for bits).
So Margaret and I are both working on restraining ourselves, maybe developing a 9-step program of some kind. But remember: MY blog in non-addictive (so far), and you can explore it safely and, I hope, with only pleasant and beneficial effects.
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3 comments:
I feel a similar way about the Bloggernacle. When I leave comments, I feel obligated to keep checking in, over and over. It's exhausting! Thank goodness I only have high-speed access at work and a connection that's much to slow at home, or I'd be hooked. Maybe that could be one of the steps: 1) get a very slow Internet connection...
There are only a few blogs and websites that I check regularly -- about a dozen, total -- and I don't think I am a true addict. Except with respect to Flickr, but that's another story.
9 steps
1) Admit that you have a problem. This may be hard, but know that your have your family behind you.
2) Don't let your fingers wander to the websites. When you feel the temptation to visit a blog, sing, "Do What is Right."
3) Remove blogs from "favorites"
4) Create new favorites focusing on book writing, Shakespearean family life, and Lawrence Stone
5) Try to initiate conversations with Feminist teachers of Shakespeare who believe that the "rule of thumb" really does refer to the width of the beating instrument a husband could use on his wife.
6) Purchase a video of Lawrence Stone talking about Elizabethan England and view it frequently. (This can sometimes substitute for a workout.)
7) Pray for strength to resist
8) Ask an internet administrator to disable links to all blogs but your family members'.
9) Start each day with the solemn declaration, "Today I can do it. I will not blog. I am strong. I am powerful. And doggone it, people like me!"
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