Have now given Twitter the boot!

Hi, all! I posted recently on having given FB the boot; now I've also jettisoned Twitter. It's not been easy, as addicted as I was to endless scrolling. I've let 3 people (Twitter friends) know that I've done it - actually, I told them I was having a break but I'm not sure I can face going back! I just hope they don't think that in rejecting Twitter, I'm rejecting them, which isn't the case at all.

I told my psychiatrist about it this afternoon - he was very pleased & said I was making progress. I told him that one of the people - a guy - I told I was backing off from Twitter seems to miss me so much he was now messaging me on Pinterest. My head-doc seemed concerned at that - should I be concerned? It does feel a little bit stifling but I have encouraged him to be friendly (nothing more!). Not sure what to do about that!

I had a sudden thought when talking to the doc. The reason I became so enmeshed in Social Media was because I was so isolated and ill after losing my husband & developing bowel disease (TMI, yay!) I always used to say that at least it stopped me from feeling totally alone & losing my marbles altogether, But what if it actually kept me in that dark place for longer than necessary? If I hadn't been able to escape into a virtual world, and thus self-medicate away the pain, would I have sought help and tried to make real-life connections sooner? Would I have been forced out of the house quicker? Who knows?

Anyway - no Social Media for me for quite a while - we'll see how it goes!

You are absolutely making progress LDD . There came a time when I started identifying the things in my life that were not really doing me any good . Mental house-cleaning , so to speak . It doesn't mean those things are necessarily " bad " . They served a purpose at one time . But some stuff needs to be evaluated with a critical eye . I changed as a person and so did my needs .

As for your Twitter friend , if you're interested in staying in touch , what's wrong with doing it by e-mail , if you're comfortable with that ? You can create a throw-away account for that purpose . Social media offers instant gratification , instant response . If he can't deal with waiting for you to reply to a regular e-mail , then perhaps he won't want to continue your conversations . Either way , you have made your decision and no one has the right to argue it . You are not obligated to communicate with him on his terms .

NewSunRising wrote:You are absolutely making progress LDD . There came a time when I started identifying the things in my life that were not really doing me any good . Mental house-cleaning , so to speak . It doesn't mean those things are necessarily " bad " . They served a purpose at one time . But some stuff needs to be evaluated with a critical eye . I changed as a person and so did my needs .

As for your Twitter friend , if you're interested in staying in touch , what's wrong with doing it by e-mail , if you're comfortable with that ? You can create a throw-away account for that purpose . Social media offers instant gratification , instant response . If he can't deal with waiting for you to reply to a regular e-mail , then perhaps he won't want to continue your conversations . Either way , you have made your decision and no one has the right to argue it . You are not obligated to communicate with him on his terms .

Thanks NSR! You're right - our needs change as we do. It's OK to remove things from our lives which no longer serve their purpose. Not always easy though! I'm not saying that social media is 100% terrible - it definitely has its uses. It's just that I wasn't using it in the most healthy way & I'm moving on from my addiction to try & find a healthier way of life. I haven't told my friends this yet, though - I've been putting it off for fear of hurting their feelings (I'm a wuss lol!) They know I'm on a break.

The trouble with Twitter friendships is that they go so far & no further. I've been saying hello and exchanging amusing pictures most days with this chap for about a year. Do we really want to do that for the rest of our lives?! Either friendships move on, or they don't. I was thinking of letting him have my mobile number (I can block numbers to my mobile if they get problematic) so we could at least have a proper chat! We'll see!