I deactivated Twitter.
No announcement I just did it. I joined Twitter in 2009 after attending a Webinar with the librarian I worked for at the time. I learned about hashtags, how using social media can drive library engagement. Over 10 years, including a small dust up with a Winnipeg-famous figure and his fans, I decided to wash my hands of it. My mental health will thank me.
Last week, I was sick and that presented an interesting challenge while working from home. What is the protocol for calling in sick? Can you call in sick? People still get colds and though, since they’re at home, they can still work. Breathing means energy and last week breathing wasn’t happening very much, along with temperature fluctuations, massive sinus headaches, and a COVID questionnaire that was borderline about diagnosis.
I decided to eliminate the major suspect-COVID. Already up before dawn, I dressed and drove to Assiniboine Downs. The racetrack (with a great buffet I heard) converted into a testing site. I got there at opening, got the swab shoved up my nose, eyes watering, then out. The whole thing took 13 minutes. I got a text the next day, an encouraging sign, and saw the word ‘Negative’ when I logged into my Shared Health account. (The same account will help me when the time comes to vaccinate.) In the end, it was an asthma flare up thanks the melt, with an old-fashioned cold.
What helped more than inhalers and nasal sprays was rest. I slept and reflected. I saw too many peppy posts about the anniversary of pandemic, the rah-rah about pivoting services and resiliency. People forget to get to resiliency, to ‘get together,’ you have to fall apart. I only look put together.
I am still hurting.
I learned society doesn’t care if people are hurting. My provincial government keeps talking about restarting the economy, my premiere offers no words of comfort and thinks we are all one big hockey team. Dumping Twitter means to reclaim my mental space and turning 50 means I learned to not care what other people think and handle the consequences of speaking or even asking ‘why?’
Life is short.
I carve out my story out of it.
Unpaused Life 
I’m not on Twitter so I applaud you for deleting it. Twitter can be informative but also insidious as I found out.
Congrats on 50 it’s a great club! I wish I could care less what people think so I admire you for that❤️
Get rest and relax!
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Thanks. At some point less does mean more. Also there are other ways to get RA info.😉
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Yes I’ve found different outlets immeasurable sources of info
On him. You give great advice here too so thank you ❤️🤗
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Congrats on NOT having COVID. re: comfort: Joe Biden is *really* trying. I hope people are listening to him, although of course in this country there’s still a huge chunk of people who don’t think anything is actually wrong and all our problems have been created by the “crazy” people who shut the country down.
At the point at which I got most upset about Twitter and withdrew 98%, I really kept it only because the blog disseminates there and a lot of people catch blog updates that way. I’ve tweeted occasionally on politics to my representatives, and I’ve been back a few times to talk to RA fans, but with rare exceptions I don’t read responses to my tweets (I think I’ve done that 3-4 times since June) or use Twitter to respond to others. Maybe when I have a one year anniversary of not being there I’ll be able to formulate my thoughts about this more clearly, but I think a lot of it had to do with particular people whom it was hard to avoid there, and with the way that a Tweet concentrates a kind of venomous energy that might otherwise be diffuse. There is definitely a place for that kind of speech and that kind of energy, but for a lot of people of my acquaintance that became the sole purpose of the platform and all they were ever doing there. It became hard to speak without being misunderstood and while it’s fine if a stranger misunderstands me it’s a problem if someone whom I’ve known for ten years does so, willfully.
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It seems like idiocy spreads faster than this virus or its variants. I can see Biden is trying and it’s paying off. It was upsetting to watch the heartlessness from the last admin and some up here are emulating it.
As for everything else, I am lost. I am completely lost.
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I’m definitely not in the camp of people who would insist “if it’s not fun, then quit,” but that may be warranted in some cases for Twitter. I definitely had a hate read and not having it any more has definitely given me some perspective.
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