hashtag tweet hashtag like hashtag brain mush

I've allowed my brain to become mush. Now let's be honest: I've never been the most intelligent or outspoken or articulate of people, but if there was one thing I could do, it was write at length. Not quality, per se, but definitely quantity. That is no longer the case. Where once I could write about lots of nothing in endless paragraphs (pick any previous post on this blog for evidence), it has now become a chore to string one sentence together. I don't think I've composed a decent email or letter in over two years! The story is similar when it comes to reading - sometimes I have to remind myself that an article is more than its headline. Especially now, when the headlines in social media are a bunch of provocative carrot sticks leading one to a whole heap of nothing. Thankfully I'm not partial to the easy-to-read list type of articles... articles that tell you everything from how to clip nose-hairs to why being bad is... bad. Perhaps I don't have the attention span to read beyond item 'one' on a list. I blame myself for this lapse in my reading and writing skills. I became addicted to social media and instant messaging. While several people I know have managed to maintain their communication skills while using these things, I let myself slide into a downward spiral of non-sentence communication, only drawing the line (and haughtily so) at abbreviating to the extent I've seen people do, or shortening words for no good reason (as seen by me, in any case). Why would I write 'gal' when 'girl' will do? And honestly, if you want to wish me a 'had' (an 'hbd'?) don't bother... I'm not sure how much time or energy was saved by shortening 'happy birthday' in that way! I digress. While I didn't get to a very high level of simplification (I do use the 'lol' quite often), I stopped writing sentences... detail... meat... depth... substance. I allowed myself to reach a stage where every mode of non-verbal communication had - in my head - the urgency and required brevity of a tweet, a status update, a quick typing of an instant message. Gone are the days where I could drone on and on about my last cupcake (I'm sure several people are quite glad), and it has reached a stage where I can't find my words. I can't express myself, and it's pretty damn scary. This goes beyond the social media addiction, but it definitely is a big catalyst. I realised deeper dangers when I began using instagram just a few days ago... the pressure to hashtag everything, simplify and categorise had me thinking in snapshots and hashtags the whole day when I first started. It's my fault that I take things to a whole other extreme. I really doubt other people are making up hashtags for everything in their minds, but I guess I'm strangely wired like that. The day of the instagram was a bunch of warning bells in my mind. This stops now. This strange effect I'm allowing to my communication skills. Sorry world, but I'm forcing out the words. ‪#‎conqueringsocialmediaeffectonme