I won't write a massive article detailing all of the ills of social media. That would be a lie, and those who write those articles do so out of rationalization rather than sincere concern for their fellow tweeter.

I will share with you, however, what it has been like to quit Twitter cold turkey. It has been about two or three weeks now, I think, since I pulled the plug. I haven't been counting the days or anything like that.

Today was the first day that I really missed Twitter. I miss my friends over there, I almost logged back in. But I held off. I decided to write here instead of falling back into the abyss.

Twitter was a vice.

More than anything, this is my main takeaway from quitting. Is my life dramatically lighter and more free post twitter? Nope. In fact, many vices that I had before I even joined Twitter started to resurface.

The old porn habit came back almost instantly. I hadn't really "quit porn", I had just replaced it with the dopamine rush of twitter notifications. Perhaps that's a good trade off, something to think about.

Old eating habits started to come back as well. I felt stronger cravings for junk food than I had in years. It turns out it's a lot easier to do intermittent fasting when you can go on Twitter and distract yourself from the fact that you're not eating anything.

I simply replaced Twitter with other forms of mindless internet surfing. Who am I kidding to say that quitting Twitter saved me time? It didn't. I just found myself spending more money on Amazon or endlessly researching the newest set of golf clubs to hit the market. I'm not sure how many times I refreshed gmail today, but it was easily triple digits.

Twitter was a substitute for interaction with real folks.

I know there are real people behind these Twitter accounts, many of whom I would consider good friends. However, I was neglecting my real relationships, the real life friendships that form the core any man's life.

Last night I bantered with an old friend for a few hours via text. If I had Twitter on my phone I probably would've clicked away from the conversation and never returned, missing an opportunity to connect with a good, lifelong friend.

Twitter changes the way you think.

When I had Twitter I would constantly think to myself "this would make a good tweet." Then after the tweet was sent the idea was gone, as if I had done it justice by putting it into 140 characters of witty prose.

Now, I take ideas and kick them around in my head all day long. Some of them, rightfully so, fall flat. Others gel into bigger ideas that occupy my mind for days at a time.

I am more present without Twitter.

When I am spending my precious time with my kids I don't want to be thinking of the latest Twitter drama or formulating tweets in my head, I want to be present and attentive. It is far easier to stay in this present state without the draw of a twitter account just a finger tap away.

I most certainly wouldn't be writing these emails if I had Twitter, I would be spending the last hour of my day mindlessly tubing down the river of tweets rather than digging deep to express they day's learnings. Perhaps this is the biggest gain from quitting Twitter, the ability to connect my experience with words in a concrete way.

I care less about politics.

I don't watch the news, and since I don't have any social media accounts at the moment, I hear very little of what is happening in the political arena. This I am thankful for. The latest and greatest twitter storm passes me right by. This frees up mental space for other things. It also allows me to build better relationships with others as I listen and share moments with them as they share the news with me. People love sharing information with you, and since I have no knowledge I don't feel compelled to try to interrupt or speak over them.

I am able to test my ideas.

I picked up a lot of knowledge on Twitter. Now it is time to put it to the test. Does it hold up to my real world observations? This is ongoing, but fascinating. Without being told daily what "lens" I should view the world through I am free to view it as it is, with all of its gray areas and imperfections. I can see more clearly now the divide that is being created by the 24/7 political news cycle. I can see reality for what it is.

Overall, I'd say the effect from quitting twitter has been about 70 percent positive and 30 percent negative. Maybe 60/40 if I really squeeze the rationalization out of it.

Will I come back to Twitter? I might, someday, but not until I know I have put into place routines for getting my deep work done first, before I join the banter.

Til next time.

Mark