What a luxury it is to poop with the door open.

It is day two of my social media fast. What an interesting time it has been... 

I am certainly not the most savvy Facebook creeper among my friends, nor am I the cleverest tweeter. I know I am by far not as obsessed with either as many poor souls are, yet this short break from our ultra-connected digital world has been very revealing. It is an absolute wonder to observe and marvel at my habituated self throughout the days. My finger scans the area of my phone where Facebook once was; my eyes and mouse flit across the bookmark bar for the familiar blue icon; some strange desire in me yearns absently for the newsfeed. By far the most intriguing and most disturbing are the deeply ingrained Twitter reflexes buzzing in my brain throughout the day.

I have been classifying my Twitter-thoughts into categories: 

1) Tweetable (restrained for this week)

     - clever

     - informative

     - ponder-worthy

     - encouraging

     - funny

     - for communication's sake

2) Thinkable (restrained for this week and almost always anyway)

     - boring observation only interesting to me

     - small only slightly quirky/clever personal thought

     - response to tweets

3) Abominable (restrained always)

     - highly odd

     - too personal 

     - rude/sinful thought

     - example: the title of this post [I was in my apartment alone and it struck me how
       special it was! How rare. How it is a blessing to be in an apartment at all this year.]

The "Abominable" category is listed as a "Twitter-thought" because these past couple of days has brought to light the extreme conditioning of which social media is capable. Would I really seriously tweet about my poop habits? Of course not. I hold nothing against my dear friends who would and do, but that is not my style. Yet, some thin blanket of Twitter covers a great many of my casual or random thoughts throughout the day. You know the type; they are almost certainly 140 characters or less. 

(note: my tweets go to my Facebook, so I am referring to Facebook posts as well, for the most part)

It all happens very quickly: 

- The subject is casually existing in the world.

- Some minor or major stimulant appears.

- Thought commences and SIMULTANEOUSLY the conditioned urge to tweet/post rouses within.

- Subject immediately deems appropriateness of thought.

- Appropriate thought is screened for quality. 

- Thought is shared on social media or discarded and kept forever private. 

This is just one common form; almost as often, the rouse to tweet comes before the thought commences, at which time the thought has a greater probability of becoming a tweetable one. As I see time and time again, far too many skip the screening step and share whatever nonsense their deluded brains stumble upon. I will primarily discuss tweets of a higher quality since I do try to generally hold myself to something higher than mere observations of my surroundings. 

So far, this is all a bit dry and analytical. Perhaps that Psych major thing is finally kicking in. But to speak colloquially:

No one cares that I can blow my nose without bleeding for the first time in weeks. That is something I would have easily posted. How much would my friends care about my early morning yoga experience?  It is somewhat laughable that hazing was so clearly happening at that 6:30 class. [Fratty guys in footie pajamas who didn't try at all or fell asleep]. The funny way my foreign physics prof says "Aristotle" certainly wouldn't have been enjoyed by all of social media. [Ah-riss-toe-tottle, slight emphasis on 'riss']. Sure, some people back at home and on campus might like to know I am one step closer to going to Italy after getting some things signed today. Maybe the general populous could get a guffaw out of a punny statement about Psychology now and then. Many would surely empathize with my annoyance at campus construction or at parking frustration. A decent number would feel a sense of pride or anger because of a well-versed tweet of Caddo pride. Someone could potentially gain much from a post referencing fruitful Scripture. Who knows, maybe through the poop tweet titling this post, someone could be inspired to think of the rarely mentioned freedoms inherent in living in an apartment instead of a dorm, where doors stay shut and small spaces contain all privacy. 

WHY AM I COMPELLED TO SHARE SO MUCH ON THE INTERNET?!

I honestly don't think I over-tweet or Facebook in excess. I think of myself as a highly average participator in social media. What has brainwashed and conditioned me so acutely? Why do I place such value in the approval and recognition of those I know? 

These questions and more - in my next blog. 

Since I cannot publish this to Facebook or Twitter until next week, I presume no one will read this. If you are, kudos! It would be quite ironic for you to share/post this. I would never know! Lawl.

I apologize for the rant and the somewhat scientifically presented interpersonal observations. I hope and think it will get more interesting; I have barely scratched the surface on the nuttiness running rampant within muh brainz. For now, I'll leave with some of what has filled my head and time in lieu of the connective sedation of social media:

It's incredibly valuable to check oneself times. To check one's time and use of it. The days are evil on their own! For now, He has very clearly told me to be slow. To sit. To wait. To cease striving.

*insert jeopardy music* 

It is in this still state I hope to be given understanding.