I'm off the grid: Day 4

I’m becoming less willing to take the blame for my social networking obsession as I find other ways to bide my time. If social networking Web sites were in some kind of race, Twitter.com and Facebook would be neck and neck, the world would be cheering them on and the media would be all over it.

It seems every time I turn on the television, some newscaster is asking me to tell them my thoughts via Twitter and become a fan of their network’s Facebook page. Just like the sites themselves, it’s incredibly distracting and really annoying. It was sick to watch Larry King’s interview with Candy Spelling earlier this week, a conversation that ended with an exchange that went something like, “If you Twitter me, I’ll Twitter you.” Gross.

The problem with trying to avoid social networking is simply this: You can’t. Let me explain.

Since quitting, I have spent less time in front of the computer. It’s been good and, like I mentioned in my last post, it’s been great realizing that I do, in fact, have time to read books that aren’t a class requirement. I just have to make the time. Prioritize. Who could’ve guessed?

If I didn’t make it clear before, both my jobs require me to be in front of computer. But in trying to stay “off the grid” of social networking, I’ve been channeling my downtime into other outlets, like shopping. I haven’t purchased anything yet, but there are purchases I’ve been meaning to make — like a new cell phone, possibly a smart phone of some sort — that I can now say I’ve thoroughly researched out of boredom. Here’s the problem.

So many Web sites have crossed the line between retail and social networking, it’s hard to tell if I’m wasting money or wasting time. Amazon.com, for example, is built around knowing the customer and what the customer likes and will buy. They use algorithms instead of photo album stalking, but Amazon probably knows you better than most of your closest friends. Amazon would never give you a Fall Out Boy CD for your birthday when you already mentioned you wanted the Led Zeppelin live concert DVD box set. Customers can make wish lists and have their own page which is similar to a Facebook profile. Review a product with a user name that is the same as what appears on your credit card and you get a “Real Name” badge to appear with your review. Review a lot of stuff and you can be a “Top 1000 Reviewer”. It’s flare, like a Facebook bumper sticker.

It’s social networking and we haven’t even realized it. At least, I hadn’t realized it until now. And sadly, I’ve been neck deep in this stuff for quite some time, it seems.

I’m making progress in leaving this all behind — not forever and probably never completely, but the longer I spend away from my profiles and my internet friends, the more I recognize how little it all matters.

But, like any other recovering addict, I’ve been tempted to log on many a time in the last few days. Today, The New York Times enticed me with two of my favorite things in life: recipes and Twitter. I love cooking and I love tweeting and this almost threw me off the wagon.

Recipes in 140 characters or less? I was forced to step away from the keyboard lest my social networking sobriety be compromised.