Taking a break from Social Media

September has been a hectic month, hence the absence of regular blog posts. It started with a road trip to the WPA in North Carolina and ended with a road trip to Howell in Michigan for a wedding. Add in family visiting from England, and my daughter gearing up for her departure for a six month internship in Berlin, and it’s easy to understand how the month has passed with little productivity on the latest manuscript or with the preparations for the next book release (The Anniversary due in December).

That’s okay, though, because it’s been a lot of fun and an opportunity to stoke the imagination while indulging in my passion for travel. It also gave me a chance to step back from the lure of social media which seemed to be taking up more and more of my time for little reward. Whether I will be able to stick to my vow to reduce the amount of time I spend online remains to be seen, but I’m encouraged by the fact that although I had a laptop with me on my travels, it was rarely switched on!

Initially I had planned to blog about my journeys en-route, until I discovered I’d forgot to pack the cable which links my camera to my computer and wouldn’t be able to add any pictures. I suppose this is one argument in favor of having a smartphone, instead of a cellphone so old, it’s probably a miracle I can still make calls on it, let alone take photos. However, at least it means that I’m not running the risk of being one of those annoying people who pull out their phone every few minutes no matter where they are.

While I will admit social media has its advantages, life seemed to work quite well before the advent of smartphones and tablets, so in this regard I’m somewhat of a dinosaur who doesn’t quite understand why there is such a pressing need to be connected at all times.

What do you think?