My world was turned upside down on June 17. At 12:40 a.m. that day, I delivered a 6 lb. 8 oz. baby boy who immediately began consuming every second of my time – day and night. My life once occupied by clients and media was overrun by nursing and changing diapers.
Prior to baby, I prided myself on my social media engagement. An avid tweeter, robust LinkedIn user and active Facebook friend (to name the big SM channels), I was never out of touch and was often first to learn of breaking news. When Michael Jackson died, I learned the news within minutes and more than an hour before CNN reported it. When Osama Bin Laden was killed, I joined the speculation hours before President Obama made the official announcement. Social media engines, particularly Twitter, were my primary outlets for news, commentary, gossip and updates.
Then, Sweet Baby James came along. Endless days turned into endless nights. The sun rose and set day after day and my world stood still.
After initial birth announcements were posted, texted, emailed and snail mailed – in a fog of sleep deprivation – my social media engines were powered down. No time to follow trending topics, no time to update profiles and no time to converse with “friends” and followers. My world – once full of people across the globe and enriched by diverse opinions, knowledge and information – shrunk to the size of one Chicago neighborhood.
While on my social media hiatus, and my break from traditional media for that matter, I missed a ton of content. The earthquake on the East Coast came and went without my knowledge. My parents in Florida filled me in on Tropical Storm Lee only after I inquired about their weekend boating plans. And, the Arab Spring turned into summer.
On the one hand, having such pure uncluttered focus on baby was refreshing. On the other hand, I felt utterly detached and uninformed. My social media hiatus allowed me to grow into my role as mother, but made me starved for information.
Now that I am playing the part of working mom, inevitably my social media engagement will evolve. I’m not likely to spin around TweetDeck at 9 p.m. each night, I may not peruse LinkedIn groups as frequently and I doubt there will be many Facebook updates. While I may not engage social media with the same zeal as before, it will once again reign supreme as my on-ramp to the information superhighway.
How have you handled juggling your real world with your digital one?
