30 Day Writing Challenge

I've been struck by writer's block for the past while. Even my journal isn't happening, apart from a sporadic scribble or two. This is not good for me. I feel like my creativity meter is on ZERO. Today on Facebook, The Writer's Circle posted a simple 30 Day Writing Challenge and I decided perhaps having some set things to write about each day for a month might get my creative juices flowing again. You might like to do it along with me, but if not that's okay. Hope you'll enjoy reading. 

Confession - this is hopefully going to clear the writer's block so that at the end the 30 days - that is on Friday 20th of November - I will be ready to launch my first ebook! I will tell you more about that along the way.

Day 1: Five problems with social media

Wow! Social media is so big in our lives now; how did we ever live without it? Every day - yes several times a day indeed - I pop online and spend an unmentionable amount of time scrolling through endless posts of friends, family and unknowns, special interest groups, advertisements and suggested pages I might be interested in.  I follow links and read articles and generally have a whale of a time whilst neglecting life around me in the here and now. Problem number 1 is that even being in/on even one social media group can dissolve many hours a day that might be used for other activities.

Many of things I see and read on social media are somewhat depressing. I see family and friends displaying memes that indicate how very different our points of view are. Sometimes I can almost feel the distance growing between us as I wonder what is going on inside their heads.  I wonder if they feel the same when they see the things I post. Quite likely I suppose. Problem number 2 is that I can easily assume that I understand or jump to conclusions about what someone else is thinking or feeling without actually speaking with them and listening to hear them talk about their ideas and beliefs. 

I get overwhelmed by posts about people being cruel to animals and cruel to each other. I get overwhelmed by posts that prick my conscience about not doing enough. I get overwhelmed by continuous pleas to sign petitions to save lives in countries where legal systems are less generous than our own. I get overwhelmed by the sadness and horror and misery out there in the world. I get overwhelmed by images that once seen cannot be blocked from my memory despite my use of the 'Hide' button. The imprint remains like the negative after staring at the sun...burned in. Yet still I persist in looking and scrolling every single day. Problem number 3 is the sense of overwhelm that comes from seeing too much and knowing too much and being so very small in the scope of things - how can I make a difference? Feeling helpless.

I connect with people on Facebook. People I see down the street when I pop into the shops or post office. People I see at work and at school. Sometimes people I don't know very well really. We've connected on Facebook and yes, we know each other but somehow never seem to make time to sit and have a cuppa together and really get to know each other in a more real way. It is a psuedo connection. I am an introvert and so find time alone to be restorative. I wonder if sitting here alone yet still being connected - making a comment here and there and reading those others have made - I wonder if that somehow robs me of that real time alone. I wonder if I am cheating myself of truly restorative actions like meditation, walking, quietly preparing healthy meals or reading and sewing, writing, creating something; designing a better way to live. I wonder if by robbing myself of this true alone time, I am less likely to truly connect with people face to face because I am STILL needing alone time. Problem number 4 is that social media can rob us both of real time connection because we have already 'seen and heard' each other online, and of real time alone which nurtures our creativity.

And then there are all those stories about people doing and achieving great things. They are travelling and growing businesses and going on grand adventures. They are raising money for charity and attending rallies to address the shortcomings in our world. They are caring for the sick and injured and writing books and winning song contests. They are 90 years old and dance like they're still 20. There is so much evidence of what can be done with a life. I can begin to feel guilty that I am not a great dancer or out there doing more somehow. I feel exhausted by the range of possibilities. I Google dance classes and find out that there are none closer than an hour and a half drive away. I click yes, going, to events and find I'm too tired to get there. I think about writing but feel empty and unable to inspire. If I can't inspire somehow, then what is the point? I fall into the trap of comparing myself with a thousand other people every day. How I look, feel, perform, live, am. Problem number 5 is that social media can suck the life out of us by giving us too many choices. Guilt can lead to anxiety, procrastination, inaction and a return to pointless scrolling and compounding guilt that we are not who or what we could be.

I'm sure there are loads more problems with social media, but those are five that I see and feel. It's been good to write them down. It will help me to think about how I am using social media and how I might serve myself better by limiting the time on Facebook and choosing to do some more satisfying things that nurture my creative soul. What are the problems you see with social media. I could write at least as much on the advantages, but that was not the mission for today. 

Onwards and upwards,

Kerry x