[Regarding my posts in Moodle: the "blue word substitution for a URL"does NOT work for me! I have tried umpteen different configurations and classmates have even tried to help me with screenshots. Doesn't work! Maybe a glitch amongst Windows 8.1, Moodle, and Chrome?]
This class is turning out to be what I hoped it would be: hands-on. It's providing me the time to do some stuff I always wanted to do online, and I'm learning lots of minute skills along the way. The workload eased up a bit this week, so that was very welcome.
As I think about my online life, I do admit that in some ways, I think I'm addicted. I live with Sisters who run our Catholic bookstore and who have a very minimal online presence. I feel like some kind of explorer who is seeing and meeting and creating all this incredible stuff and come back to tell them about it (probably bore them to death, actually, ha ha)! An article was done about me in The Atlantic about a year ago, and the writer impertinently entitled her piece: The Nun Who Got Addicted To Twitter. I was pretty indignant at first, but in the ensuing months, I've been questioning myself: is she right? I think in some ways, she is! And this class isn't helping by keeping me constantly online! ha ha.
I think there is so much offered online that people can get addicted to: different things in different ways. I love to write/communicate/share information/discuss, so that's what I do. Other people enjoy games, sharing pictures with friends, following sports, watching YouTubes, being news junkies, etc.
One "rule" I have for myself is to be transparent. Be the same person online as you are in real life. No hyped-up personas or overly clever posts that I wouldn't actually "say" IRL. Try to be as genuine as possible. But again, I'm finding that I spend many more hours a day online than IRL! Everything I do: movie reviewing, communicating through social media, schoolwork, promotion my documentary and working on the promotion with others, doing "recruitment" work, setting up talks, Powerpoints, handouts...absolutely everything is done ONLINE! It slowly crept up on me and took over my life! And I don't mind, really because there are real people online, "real" virtual communities (is that a contradition in terms?) online, and I feel I'm actually helping people online.
The balance that is "suffering" in my online life is primarily certain friends/family/IRL interaction, and my body/health, which just stands around at my computer all day, when I used to be running around in a bookstore or out at book/media exhibit tables at conferences: traveling, loading and unloading, meeting tons of people face-to-face. I used to have a very physically and socially healthy lifestyle!
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| In my healthy IRL days. See how much slimmer I was? |
Before I was a movie reviewer, I would watch one of my Sisters who did movie reviewing going to sit in theaters in the freezing cold dark on a beautiful summer day and I would think: "I would never want that job!" But now I have that job (but I always try to see films at night).
However I feel if I'm good at communicating online (still need help in the tech department!) and I feel called to be a "digital missionary" (I do!), than I should do it without too many qualms (with the backing of my community). All of our bookstores are linked up across the USA and our computer company said: "One of your Sisters is going to have to be an IT 'martyr' for this to work. She will have to be on 24/7 to fix glitches, crashes, daily end-of-day and point-of-sale problems, etc." One of our Sisters DID feel "called" and stepped up to the plate. She has been "suffering" for the past 10 years now! She has NO life! (Even though we have two guys in our IT department to help her.) Such are the vagaries of the new media, Web 2.0 life. It's all worth it when people started telling me: "Thank you for your Twitter ministry, Sister." I didn't even know I had one. :)
Two articles I found this week. One positive about online life, one negative. I disagree with both of them! :)
The Digitally Examined Life: Tracking Your Every Move Through Smart Wearables (this is just nuts!)
Agoraphobia in the Digital Age (I just don't see this happening)
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