I’ve now turned off the plugin on my blog that syndicates my posts to Twitter. I don’t know yet if it’s temporary or permanent.

I’ve known for quite some time that I need to cut down on my Twitter usage. Most of the time it doesn’t make me happy, doesn’t make me feel more closely connected with my friends and doesn’t make me feel like I’m caught up on the news. In fact, the only thing it does is make me feel angry and frustrated. It keeps me in this loop of outrage, disgust and the feeling of moral superiority that so many of us are a part of and help feed.

CPG Grey has made a great video on how we spread and feed anger and it perfectly captures how Twitter feels to me.¹

So I need to cut back on Twitter. I started a while ago, probably a year ago, by deleting Twitterrific from my phone and computer. I allowed myself to dip back into it from time to time using Twitters horrible web interface and for a few months I kept it casual. Then I reinstalled the app for a while, removed it when I realized that it started taking up too much time again but from that point on I haven’t been able to keep myself away from browsing via the web.

That is where I am right now. I mindlessly check Twitter whenever, wherever, and I always come across something that makes me feel bad or angry or sad or outraged.

With syndication off that would mean I would just be a passive spectator and that would hopefully feel like such a waste of time that I don’t even bother going there.

Cross your fingers for me!