When I connect with teachers and leaders about how best to support their learning, lack of time is the #1 reason for not engaging.
This has me wondering…is it the lack of time (we all have the same amount), or is it all the responsibilities, commitments, and mandates that fill up our schedules?
What could you drop tomorrow (or by Tuesday) that wouldn’t disrupt life too much so you would have more time for professional learning?
Part of the purpose of this declutter was to re-examine my relationship with these technologies. Does absence make the heart grow fonder, or more distant?
While I plan to stay with writing here, and I have not fully engaged with Linkedin yet, I have decided Twitter is no longer a tool that reciprocates the time and energy I have given it in the past.
I used Cal Newport's three questions from Digital Minimalism to evaluate Twitter and come to this conclusion:
1. Does Twitter/X directly support something that I deeply value?
Although this space has deteriorated due to lack of moderation, there are still some thoughtful educators who share helpful resources. My values of learning and continuous improvement.
2. Is this technology the best way to support this value?
The downside of the deterioration of Twitter/X is the irresponsible and even dangerous posts that are allowed to be shared there. Combined with the fact that I cannot control what shows up in my feed, this stress probably impacts my mental health, such as increasing my anxiety. My values of mindfulness and integrity are not aligned with what Twitter/X has become.
3. How am I going to use this technology going forward to maximize its value and minimize its harms?
Before that, I have to ask: will I remain on Twitter/X? Are the benefits in learning I receive from a handful of individuals worth the cost of dealing with the extreme views that aren't value-added to professional conversation? At this point, I only plan to post my work, retweet others' content, read posts once a week or so, and avoid interactions in that space.
This is too bad. When I got on Twitter over a decade ago, it was a fun place for sharing and dialogue, if not deeper discussion. It helped facilitate new connections with other educators who I never would have known without it. But the platform's policies and systems have changed. I can either change with it, or let it go. I'm choosing the latter. Hopefully this additional space and found time will lead to better opportunities for professional learning.
Pastor John Piper once said that, "The great use of Facebook and Twitter will be as proof on judgment day, that "too little time" was not the reason your life was so prayerless.". Whether it be prayer or lifestyle learning, I think you probably has a point.
Thanks Aaron for posting this quote. If people regularly looked on their smartphone for the amount of time they spend on social media, and then considered what you shared here, I think they would reconsider their relationships with technology.
"What could you drop tomorrow (or by Tuesday) that wouldn’t disrupt life too much so you would have more time for professional learning?"
One thing I dropped the past 30 days is social media and online writing. Actually, three things: Twitter, Linkedin, and Substack.
This was part of my digital declutter in July:
- Article: https://open.substack.com/pub/readbyexample/p/disconnect-to-reconnect-how-i-am?r=hacl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
- Daily reflections from 30 days: https://open.substack.com/pub/readbyexample/p/a-30-day-digital-declutter-diary?r=hacl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Part of the purpose of this declutter was to re-examine my relationship with these technologies. Does absence make the heart grow fonder, or more distant?
While I plan to stay with writing here, and I have not fully engaged with Linkedin yet, I have decided Twitter is no longer a tool that reciprocates the time and energy I have given it in the past.
I used Cal Newport's three questions from Digital Minimalism to evaluate Twitter and come to this conclusion:
1. Does Twitter/X directly support something that I deeply value?
Although this space has deteriorated due to lack of moderation, there are still some thoughtful educators who share helpful resources. My values of learning and continuous improvement.
2. Is this technology the best way to support this value?
The downside of the deterioration of Twitter/X is the irresponsible and even dangerous posts that are allowed to be shared there. Combined with the fact that I cannot control what shows up in my feed, this stress probably impacts my mental health, such as increasing my anxiety. My values of mindfulness and integrity are not aligned with what Twitter/X has become.
3. How am I going to use this technology going forward to maximize its value and minimize its harms?
Before that, I have to ask: will I remain on Twitter/X? Are the benefits in learning I receive from a handful of individuals worth the cost of dealing with the extreme views that aren't value-added to professional conversation? At this point, I only plan to post my work, retweet others' content, read posts once a week or so, and avoid interactions in that space.
This is too bad. When I got on Twitter over a decade ago, it was a fun place for sharing and dialogue, if not deeper discussion. It helped facilitate new connections with other educators who I never would have known without it. But the platform's policies and systems have changed. I can either change with it, or let it go. I'm choosing the latter. Hopefully this additional space and found time will lead to better opportunities for professional learning.
Pastor John Piper once said that, "The great use of Facebook and Twitter will be as proof on judgment day, that "too little time" was not the reason your life was so prayerless.". Whether it be prayer or lifestyle learning, I think you probably has a point.
Thanks Aaron for posting this quote. If people regularly looked on their smartphone for the amount of time they spend on social media, and then considered what you shared here, I think they would reconsider their relationships with technology.
"life-long" learning, not lifestyle.