“The salamander lives in the fire because it has forgotten how to live any other way.”
I was reading Nick Harkaway’s new novel, Karla’s Choice (which involves George Smiley, the legendary character created by Harkaway’s father, John le Carré), over breakfast earlier this week, and I was thinking about the breaks I take from social media (evenings, weekends, end of the year), and then I arrived perchance at the above sentence. To say it registered with me would be an understatement.
To wit: Right on schedule, as we gear up for Thanksgiving, I’m off social media (Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, Facebook) and for the most part Slacks and Discords and Discourses and so forth through at least January 2, 2025, and likely January 7, the first Tuesday of the new year. I’ve also paused several email discussion groups I’m in (groups.io, for one, makes this quite easy).
I’m fully aware I’ll inevitably end up peeking, because something I’m doing — writing, music-making, coding, gaming, reading — will lead to me identifying that the best available resource is, in fact, a thread in some useful corner of the Miasma (if you made it through Neal Stephenson’s Fall; or Dodge in Hell, you get the reference). I won’t, however, be actively engaging. It’s time to take some time off: digital social life on pause.
I’ll still be typing away here at Disquiet.com (my website turns 28 years old on December 13, 2024) and in my newsletter, and the Disquiet Junto music community (which turns 13 years old on January 2, 2025, the first Thursday of the new year) will continue weekly.
I’l have my social media notifications turned decidedly off throughout. I dream of taking an email break, as well, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.