4 Surefire Ways To Tell If You're Online Too Much

Photo by Michael Balderas 

When is it ok to disconnect?

Well, this morning I had my epiphany. I woke up with a feeling in the pit of my stomach, basically telling me I needed to take a healthy break. Have I been tweeting, posting, stumbling, status updating too much?  I mean, I have great traffic and interactions through Facebook, love the conversations I have on Twitter, but does it carry the same weight as real human interaction?

I believe disconnecting is important. We need to be able to take our online interactions offline as well. I admit, I struggle with this at times, which is why I’m writing this.

So, how do you know when it’s time to disconnect?

Here are 4 ways to tell if you're online to much.

1. You haven’t spoke with a friend or family member by phone or in person (outside of social media) in two weeks.
We need to interact with others in person; to hear someone’s voice. Sorry, sending a status update doesn’t count.  It's wonderful that we engage with other's online, but friends and family are worth more than a tweet or status update, don't you think?

2. You’re worried that if you miss tweeting for a day, your follower count will drop.
Sure you (and I) have worked hard to build up a follower base, and we want to keep it growing. Then again, if your going to lose followers because you need to take a short break, it's possible they may not be quality followers to begin with.

3. You feel only as popular as your number of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or blog traffic.
Many of us want to be recognized and appreciated. And the web can help facilitate that. But it’s only part of the picture. How we treat others in person and our involvement in the community is important.  Bringing value to others offline is as important as offering value online.  Measuring your traffic, unique views, retweets,etc, is great, but it’s not everything. How have you impacted someone’s life in your community offline?

4. You share, tweet, and chat online, but would not talk to the person offline.
Now, I don’t expect us to recognize everyone.  I have about 1100 friends on Facebook, so it can get pretty difficult to meet everyone (I do my best though). But if your having conversations with people online, that you would not be willing to sit down have a coffee with offline (distance aside), then it may just be time to re-evaluate your interactions. Sounds a bit harsh, but we need to be the transparent and honest with ourselves and others.

What might you add to this list? Have you ever felt like you needed to disconnect? Please tell me about it in the comments section. Or better yet, give me a call and we can go for coffee. ;)