While our agency has been out creating and developing strategic social media modules for clients, I’ve been on a personal media starvation diet for the past 30 days. The marketing benefits of social media are clear. But I wanted to know, mentally, how each person will make room for all of this information. Will our appetites grow, or will we sacrifice something culturally and socially important as we try to keep up? How will we burn off all the information we receive every day? And are all these opinions really good for us?

So for 30 days, I retired my column, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and all news including CNN, but not New York magazine or Jon Stewart—that’s more culture than news. Here’s what happened.

Days 1-5: I feel out of touch. I’ve become a born again existentialist… do I really exist if I don’t post my status updates? I’ll just have to do with whatever Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables has to offer. I am in a client meeting and conversation turns to one of Obama’s recent press conferences. The idea of valiance comes to mind, so I access the only piece of relevant information I can think of: the passage where Jean Valjean admits to the courts that he is the real Jean Valjean and lets the falsely accused go free. Whateves. I thought it was interesting. Awkward.

Days 6-10: I begin the anger phase. Bashing Facebook posters, tweeters, bloggers. Jon Stewart even begins to annoy me (sorry, I love you, Jon). I cannot stand all this information. Everything is the same to me. It is all running together—“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and the Tiananmen Square anniversary.

Day 11: Finally, some inspiration. I see the title of New York magazine’s May 7 cover article, “In Defense of Distraction.” In the piece, Sam Anderson researches the negatives and positives of all this damn information. I know this article is a part of my journey. But I don’t want anything to poison my mind just yet. So I read the first paragraph and put it away.

Days 12-16: I pick up an old Haruki Murakami book, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and retire Victor Hugo. My brain is flexing its muscles. Literally, the muscles in my brain are flexing. I don’t care what other people are saying. I don’t care what other people are doing. I am enlightened. My thoughts are loud and clear. My focus is indestructible. I am indestructible.

Day 17: I am in a client meeting and we talk about Sotomayor. I don’t know what’s going on, so I talk about another plump girl: the girl in the pink suit and pink shoes in Murikami’s book. Whateves. I walk out onto the street. I take a photo. On every corner, in beautiful patterns, people are texting and tweeting and Facebooking. Everyone’s head is craned. In the future we will morph into neckless humans with pointy fingers.

Days 18-22: I think about Sam Anderson’s article, “In Defense of Distraction,” again. I am ready to read it in its entirety. He utilizes a con (the first 6 pages) and pro (last 2 pages) format.

As he explores the cons of distractions like web surfing, email, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and the like, Anderson quotes the economist Herbert Simon: “We’ve become mentally obese.” David Meyer, the world’s reigning expert on multi-tasking, says that distraction is “a full-blown epidemic, a cognitive plague that has potential to wipe out an entire generation of focused and productive thought.” I cry. I feel this way. I love you, Herbert.

Day 23-27: Exploring the pros of distraction, Anderson writes that all this restlessness will make us prolific. That the wandering mind can lead us to great places and the truly wise mind can harness the power of distraction. I spend these few days cranking my mind open to this thought.

Day 28: I miss my Facebook. While I used to be inspired by one author or artist for months at a time, I now think about the ideal that this social renaissance is helping to promote: “Everyman is your teacher.” We are living in a time where we are all redefining ourselves, and it makes sense to have these outlets to test our ideas.

Day 29: It’s clear that we are living in amazing times. We need to change with the times lest we become obsolete. But we don’t have to lose ourselves.

Day 30: It’s the last day. As with any diet, if you learn to find a balance and cut out the obvious bad stuff (“The Real Housewives of New Jersey”) and make sure you exercise (read books), you don’t have to give it all up. After all, we need to take control of the information we ingest.

Merlin Mann says, “Where you allow your attention to go ultimately says more about you as a human being than anything you put in your mission statement. It’s an indisputable receipt for your existence.”

We are what we read.

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