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As I was going over a list of things to do today in terms of
my blog, I was struck with how much social media has taken over a lot of my
time. I don’t feel like I can sit down and solely write content.
The pull of social media sites is strong and many times I succumb, spending way
too much time updating Facebook and Twitter posts, reading and responding to
e-mails and trying to grow my social media reach. This leaves me precious little time to actually write! Bloggers are told that we need to have Twitter
followers, Facebook likes, Stumbleupon thumbs up, Pinterest Boards, Klout
Scores, LinkedIn connections and more! I
think it’s because people are looking for the quick bites of information via texts,
notifications, e-mail , search terms and hash tags.
Research shows that 8
seconds is the new attention span limit. It used to be closer to 21 seconds! And of course bloggers want to take advantage
of that 8 second window! However, this
constant stream of quick hits of information flooding the brain in random and
rapid succession is proving to be
problematic to the human memory.
Dr. Adam Gazzaley of UC San Francisco discovered that
distractions are a key component in the natural decline of the human
memory! Think about it, what are
distractions? They are exactly what I am
talking about. Social media is a series
of distractions!
With the advent of the internet, social media, and its
amazing capacity to supply information, we often neglect the part of the brain
that needs to be exercised daily with reading and writing! It’s kind of an irony that the Information
Age is contributing to the dumbing up of Americans. But we don’t have to let our brains succumb
to the craziness. We can do things, with
both reading and writing, to exercise our brains and ensure we keep our edge,
so important in an increasingly complicated world, constantly changing at a
breakneck pace.
Reading:
Reading a novel, short story or information on
a topic you are interested in can keep the brain active and can prevent Alzheimers. It can also improve your mood and helps to boost
analytical thinking, along with developing vocabulary. Reading fiction makes you more empathetic of
others and also enhances your memory.
Cracking open a book makes you a better writer, which is another important exercise
you can do to help your brain counteract the mind numbing effects of the Age Of Information!
Writing:
Writing is a wonderful way to boost the
benefits that reading starts. In
addition to mental stimulation, writing is an exploratory exercise, giving you immense
understanding into your own inner workings.
It can be very cathartic! Doing a
daily writing, whether it is in a journal, on a blog, or on a Word Doc, will
help you immensely! Do it first thing in
the morning and it will wake you up and energize you. Do it reflectively in the evening and it will
relax you. Writing with a purpose can
accomplish so much! An exercise that I
think is very provocative is to write a historical fiction story, with a definite goal. The goal would be to write about one of your relatives or
ancestors. Maybe you know their name,
where they were born and where they died, but not much else. You know they existed and you, more than
anyone else, have an interest in their life.
Bring it to life with your own writing!
My Guest writer, Aundria Kenning, has done just that! She takes a name, date and maybe one lone fact and turns
it into a story woven around the life of that person. It’s a fascinating concept that can
illuminate the lives of those directly related to you!
Aundria also helps writers improve their writing with
coaching and suggestions on a site called Writers.com. It is free and a great resource if you are
wanting to become a better writer and aren’t afraid of a constructive
comment about things you have already
written! She is also a judge for writing contests at the
site. Here is what Aundria has to say
about writing and our busy lives –
"The only factor becoming scarce in a world of abundance is human attention." - Kevin Kelly, Wired magazine
Everyone is too busy! Texting has become the communication of the day. The
messages are quick and concise and even the small words are abbreviated or left
out altogether. Punctuation has been replaced by emoticons and misspellings are
overlooked. A new language has been created and the magic of words has been
forgotten. Free time is scarce and distractions are plentiful. Disconnection
through connectivity is the challenge of our age.
With time at such a premium, how can we grasp and keep the
attention of the wandering mind? How can we make our family history relevant in
an age of instant information? How can we make our ancestors heard in an era
where there is already too much noise?
Many genealogists want to inspire the members of their family with the hidden treasures and triumphs they have uncovered. They want to share their passion for family history and the wisdom of the generations that have come before. But they fear that these stories will wither and die for lack of interest and the lure of idle industry. I hope to help them accomplish this goal. I am fascinated by characters and hope to help discover the people behind the names.
By writing their stories in a short but informative form, short stories are quick and unobtrusive. They ask little time of the reader, yet can ignite their imagination. Through the use of historical fiction and short memoirs, we can breathe life into well-known anecdotes and create a spark of interest into otherwise forgotten family lore. The true character and thoughts of our ancestors will live again when the world they lived in is re-created.
If you are interested in joining a community of writers with this goal, and beginning your own online portfolio of family memoirs and their stories, please come visit us at the Roots and Wings Discussion Forum. This group offers a discussion forum, prompts to help you get started on finding these stories, and even a writing contest. It is located in an online writer’s community. While membership is required, it is free. To join our site, please visit www.writing.com to get started. If you have any questions, please contact Aundria Kenning at aundria_k@writing.com.
Many genealogists want to inspire the members of their family with the hidden treasures and triumphs they have uncovered. They want to share their passion for family history and the wisdom of the generations that have come before. But they fear that these stories will wither and die for lack of interest and the lure of idle industry. I hope to help them accomplish this goal. I am fascinated by characters and hope to help discover the people behind the names.
By writing their stories in a short but informative form, short stories are quick and unobtrusive. They ask little time of the reader, yet can ignite their imagination. Through the use of historical fiction and short memoirs, we can breathe life into well-known anecdotes and create a spark of interest into otherwise forgotten family lore. The true character and thoughts of our ancestors will live again when the world they lived in is re-created.
If you are interested in joining a community of writers with this goal, and beginning your own online portfolio of family memoirs and their stories, please come visit us at the Roots and Wings Discussion Forum. This group offers a discussion forum, prompts to help you get started on finding these stories, and even a writing contest. It is located in an online writer’s community. While membership is required, it is free. To join our site, please visit www.writing.com to get started. If you have any questions, please contact Aundria Kenning at aundria_k@writing.com.
Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. Posting guest content does not indicate personal endorsement or promotion.
