There’re lots of articles in which writers like me leave social media and report on how their lives have transformed. I swore I wouldn’t add to it. But here I am, writing about it. And I’m doing so because it didn’t change my life in quite the way that I expected or many of these essays promised it would.
I genuinely enjoyed Twitter. The problem was that I loved it a little too much. I’d find myself checking it when I should be working, running late to my daughters’ school events because I tried to fit in a quick glance or staying up far too late surfing vast oceans of information, tired and barely interested but unable to resist it.
In November, my friends encouraged me to drop my Twitter habit, at least for a little while. My life was overfull, and this was something I could cut out. I followed, though hesitantly and with a little bit of unwillingness, because I trust my friends and their wisdom.
I went from being on it nearly every day to being off it for two months now. Being offline didn’t make my life that joyful. But there is one way that leaving Twitter has benefited my life and my mind. The times when I checked Twitter were often the transition points in my day: when I waited in line or to pick up my kids from school. Freeing up those seemingly inconsequential moments has been transformative. These moments are nothing I really considered before and I even didn’t notice their departure when I began going online. Leaving them unfilled has changed how I walk through time. I may wave to a neighbor; I may feel gratitude or delight. I may notice that I feel tired or lonely. But this, too, is part of the gifts of these small moments.
Our days, which are so full of work and thinking, of disappointments and confusion, must have moments when nothing much is happening, moments when we get no input, no videos, no opinions.
1. What do we know about the author?
A.The author’s life was disturbed by the overuse of Twitter. |
B.The author followed the friends’ advice without hestitation. |
C.The author shared the same idea with other writers about Twitter. |
D.The author’s interest in the information online drove him to check Twitter. |
2. What does the underlined word “inconsequential” in paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Unforgettable. | B.Unimportant. | C.Tough. | D.Boring. |
3. What’s the author’s purpose of writing the text?
A.To persuade readers to block Twitter. |
B.To show the influence of social media. |
C.To share an unexpected benefit of staying offline. |
D.To raise doubts about the promised effects of being offline. |
4. What might be the best title for the text?
A.Free up Small Moments | B.No Twitter, No Trouble |
C.Take a Moment to Reflect | D.Small Changes, Big Differences |