This is an announcement- I, Caroline Drew, am taking a social media sabbatical. For the summer of 2014 I am deleting my facebook, twitter, instagram, and even (oh how I will miss the 5 second shots of your pets) snapchat.
For those of you that fainted from shock/disgust/utter confusion, thank you for rejoining us. Please read with caution, however, because the above statement was not a joke.
For those of you who are thinking "ok cool...I don't have any of those accounts either. What's the big deal?" To you I say: HOW ARE YOU SEEING THIS BLOG?! HA! CAUGHT YA!
Obviously, there are people out there who participate in all or some of these social media sites without it being an issue. Keep in mind, I plan on reviving all of my accounts come fall. My reasoning for temporarily jumping ship is as follows- wait, no, there is more than one reason. But so help me, I will not make a list. I will not. Do you hear me Buzzfeed????
I am not someone who has a Facebook, but rarely logs on. I am someone, however, who will scroll through Instagram ever hour. I am not someone who is on Twitter "just for news" (I'm skeptical that anyone really is. And if you are, there has got to be a better way to get the news than Twitter. Maybe this summer I will actually start reading the news and I will get back to you all on this topic). I am someone who has frequently abused the "my story" feature on Snapchat. And I do think that 'abused' is the appropriate term.
The point is, not everyone needs a break from social media, but it's about time I detoxed.
This summer I am trying to focus on positive, intentional living (Note: I've found that gargling listerine really rids your mouth of that cheesy cliche taste). I want to take pictures for memories' sake, not for other people. I want to have witty thoughts longer than 140 characters- because let's be real, I'm pretty witty (pretty witty? Ohhhh man! I can't be stopped!). Mostly, I want to focus on interacting with the people in my life in a genuine way that, at times, I have previously allowed social media communications to take place of. Selfishly, I am pumped about having a few less areas of my life that I feel the need to "check." If I could delete my email, trust me, I would.
(For any Buzzfeed staff members who have stumbled upon this blog- the above section is what is commonly referred to as a 'paragraph.')
And now, in memoriam ("but Caroline, you said this is only temporary??" Shh!! I'm doing something here!) of my time on social media, I will look back at some of my happier cyberweb moments.
2004: Caroline creates her first email, and thus, AIM account. She chooses the name "dancequeen827" because- well, the reasons are obvious.
2007: Caroline, at the then rebellious age of 14, activates her Facebook account. Sure, the photos uploaded during these first 2 (3,4...) years would essentially serve as blackmail later on, but who cares. She sure thought she was cute at the time and her wall-post game was killer.
2010: Caroline joins the Twitter community. As many of her friends could guess, she has trouble fitting anything into such a small space, but like a wild animal bent on survival- she adapts. Nay, she thrives.
2012: Caroline is now on Instagram. She is stumped by the filter "Toaster" but uses all others perfectly.
2013: Caroline creates a snapchat handle and it's like she's never lived until now. Never before has she seen such a wide assortment of cute little kids, homework assignments (with the caption "ugh" or "literally can't"), and her friends faces contorted in the most unflattering ways. They last a few seconds, but those few seconds are glorious.
RIP Caroline on Vine: Spring of 2013-Summer of 2013.
Farewell for now social media. I will miss your many tabs and profiles. I will especially miss the way you allow me to share the most useless thoughts/pictures without repercussion. Special shout out to Twitter for that.
If you want to facebook stalk me, retweet me, tag me in an instagram, or snapchat me yourself at the beach (don't do this, it's mean until I'm out of school too) you only have a few days left!!!
p.s. Though it is unlikely, the blog might still resurface this summer through the social media mules I call my friends. And because they are the only ones that read this: ....I am sorry I called you all mules.
p.p.s. I know that in the past I have published articles on Buzzfeed. My sentiments towards said website, however, have changed. My breakup letter to Buzzfeed will surface onto this blog someday I'm sure, so stay tuned (ooooooh man! always keep 'em coming back for more, you, sly dog, you).
