TLR: I am disconnecting from a range of online services and social media. The ways in which you can contact me are below.
I am currently in the process of “sunsetting” a range of online and social media services. I have done this periodically over recent years when I have felt that I didn’t have enough “processing power” or “bandwidth” to be able to take everything in. Recently, I have come to the conclusion that being disconnected and away from social media is better for my mental health and general well-being on a day-to-day basis.
I have been (and continue) to be a huge fan of technology. When Web 2.0 came along and social media really took off, I was a huge advocate of it and a lot of my professional work/research revolved around social media and digital literacies in education. I have loved connecting with people from all over the world over the past thirteen years while using services like Twitter. However, as a teacher, I started to notice some of the negative impacts of social media and realised that these were at a detriment to my own well-being too. I do not think being “always on” is a healthy way to live. I have been massively impacted by the work of the likes of Brad Stulberg, Johann Hari and John Mark Comer over the past year and have come to the conclusion that I really need to disconnect and reduce a lot of the noise that comes with living in the world today. This also extends to my offline activities including access to 24-hour news etc.
Therefore, I have decided to significantly reduce my online presence and my use of a range of online services. When I do remain on a service, the way in which I use it will be significantly adapted and I might not be contactable in the short term. I have come to the conclusion that less is more when it comes to technology.
Below is an outline of the way in which I can be contacted and the approach I take (in case you find it useful). I have grown to dislike notifications and disable most of them by default on my online devices. I have left Twitter (although my account is still active for archival purposes). My use of other social networks is also very limited.
Quick Contact
(Notifications enabled and checked throughout the day)
- iMessage/SMS
- Phone
- FaceTime
Direct Contact
(Notifications disabled and checked once a day – unless on leave)
- Contact Form Below
- Signal (Messaging)
Scheduled Contact
(With prior arrangement)
- Zoom
- Skype (Limited use)
Retired Services
(I am no longer contactable by these services and you will not receive a reply even if my account still appears active)
- Telegram
- Messenger
- Strava
This is all part of an approach to developing healthy boundaries. I have found boundaries to be really effective at eliminating stress, reducing hurry and preventing me from becoming overwhelmed. This has been through a process of self-discovery and by reading a few books which I would really recommend to you:
- The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds – Not Crushes – Your Soul by Brad Stulberg
- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
- Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
- To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke
- Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge
- Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
If you’d like to get in touch with me then you can use one of the methods above or the contact form below.
For professional and education-based work, please visit martinwaller.co.uk. However, my conference and public speaking work is currently paused. I am not taking on any further research and academic writing work for the foreseeable future.