The Real Problem With Twitter

I'm not very good at controlling what I focus my attention on.  I think that it is something a lot of people have trouble with.  It is even possible that it is something everybody struggles with.  Basically once something is in my head, I can only get it out by either letting it run its course or by finding something more compelling to replace it.  If I'm reading a book I have to either finish it or start a better one.  

And this is why I have a problem with Twitter.  I'm not bothered by the supposed nastiness of the platform.  I notice it, but there is so much good stuff as to more than make up for it.   And the amount of time I spend on it - typically about an hour and a half a day - isn't really all that excessive.  As I hardly watch any television and as I have no other social media that I visit regularly I'd regard that as an appropriate amount of distraction.  The problem is the amount of my attention it distracts.

The problem is the effect Twitter has on me when I'm not on it.  This is most noticeable when I go for my daily cycle.  In all but the most adverse weather I do a 20-30 minute cycle around the park with the intention of pushing myself to the point of breathlessness.  It's primarily to keep fit.  But it is also a great opportunity to think about stuff undistracted by the phone, reading matter and the internet.  I often get good ideas or come up with solutions to problems with my mind free to concentrate.  The trouble is that all too often I find myself thinking of random things I've seen on Twitter or things I can post. 

There was a good example yesterday.  I went on Twitter and got directed to an old film.   In the process I saw the old film censorship accreditation that used to precede all films when I was young.  The idea struck me of doing one for my next tweet.   Half an hour later a mildly amusing tweet had appeared.  I enjoyed myself, but there were things much better that I could have used that half hour for.

I've tried various things to avoid this.  Writing some notes before I set out on what I want to be thinking about helps a bit - but isn't especially effective.  I've tried reciting my goals to myself.  That just made me feel Californian.  Memorising poems keeps my mind clear of twitterage - but I don't really value learning poems much higher than tweeting anyway.

And the reality is that although the distraction of Twitter is very noticeable when I am cycling, it also invades my brain other times when focus on what I am working on would be more appropriate.  Attention is finite and if I am thinking about Twitter I can't think about other things.

So I think I am going to have to simply restrict my use of Twitter to the weekends only.  I don't seem to be able to control it any other way.