It’s killing me but I have put myself (after promptings from the Holy Spirit I think) on a blog reading holiday for Lent. Protestants do not really observe Lent as the Catholics do by abstaining from meat or giving up bad habits, but this year it seemed appropriate for me to rein in my blog reading. I guess I am just an information addict at heart.
I remember when CNN was a new thing on TV providing 24 hour news coverage. I quickly became hooked on watching the continual news flowing in from all over. The latest live courtroom or a live report from a war zone. Strangely though I’ve never been addicted to any particular TV show. As the CNN system was bought out by other interests and changed over time into more and more political commentary and celebrity gossip I lost interest. Fast forward to today. Today my appetite for information is fed by a variety of websites and blogs. When I last counted I had 43 that were bookmarked on the left sidebar of my computer (note the before and after on the photos.) I used to check in on them daily or even multiple times a day reading the new postings and the comment sections. The internet still amazes me, that all this information is at our fingertips. Science news especially hooks me in.
It starts with one or two interesting sites that in turn link to other sites that are equally interesting and the bookmarked lists grows and grows. The internet is endless and if one has very little self-discipline (and the weather is cold and snowy) it can suck you in and consume all your time. I guess young people are finding this out about social networking. When it starts to take you away from things you know you should be doing then it is turning into a vice. The old adage “everything in moderation” comes to mind but why is it so hard to determine what moderation looks like? How much blog reading is just staying informed? How much blog reading is just feeding a bad habit?
Going on a blog reading holiday (it’s been a week now) has its benefits. I’ve re-discovered books and I am also getting to the things on my to do list and crossing them off much faster. I am not currently reading any of my favorite websites and blogs and am reading only the news that comes in on my home page. A few minutes and I’m done.
The one blog I do allow myself to still read is my daughter-in-law’s blog about the pregnancy of course. I also check in on Facebook. Since E#2 is doing her semester abroad and doesn’t have a phone we rely on e-mail and Facebook to keep track of her so I can’t give that up.
When Lent is over I will re-evaluate and decide how to pare down my bookmarked list and become a much more moderate blog reader I hope. Besides, the weather is improving and the outdoors is beckoning for gardening and walking.
Lou
PS This blog is not required reading for anyone either. Ha.
Being the somewhat less than observant being that I am, it took me a while to figure out that L had abandoned her blogs. Actually, I didn't figure it out so much as I overheard her telling someone else she was giving it up for Lent. There have been times in the past when she has logged off the computer in the middle of the evening saying, "Well, I've read it all. I've read the whole internet." Wouldn't you know it would happen just when I discovered Twitter.
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