Dallin Crump

That's a line from the movie (based on the book by the same name), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I only recently watched it for the first time. As I wrestled with the decision of whether or not to quit Twitch, this line resonated with me when I heard it.

I no longer refer to people who watch my Twitch channel as a “community.” I call them viewers or friends, but I don't think it's accurate or helpful to refer to them as a community.

I spent weeks thinking (agonizing) about, drafting, and re-drafting a post on why I was going to quit Twitch. I almost posted it this week, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And then I decided to stream last night and was reminded of the tremendous potential of the streaming experience to be a good and positive influence in the lives of others.

It's interesting the things you come across online when you wake up in the middle of the night. For some reason at 2:30am today, my half-conscious-but-apparently-not-tired-enough-to-sleep brain decided to search Startpage for “boycott Twitch” and discovered there is an actual Amazon boycott starting today. I took that as a sign. I'm joining the boycott. I won't be streaming on Twitch this week.

I can't shake a feeling I've had since before Easter.

Sometimes I can almost forget it. But like my tinnitus, it's always there when I stop and think about it.

It feels like a chapter of my life may be ending. And I feel...mournful. Sad.

I started watching Twitch again after taking a break for 7 weeks. It's only been a few days, but I think it's causing me to slip back into old thought patterns and habits. I need to cut way back and limit myself to specific streams and times. Or stop watching altogether.

One of the things that I have enjoyed about taking my first Lenten journey this year is rediscovering my love of writing.

As part of my continuing efforts to align what I'm doing on Twitch with my values and purpose, I have renamed my Twitch stream/account from “Newfangled_” to “PositiveNotes”. You can tune in at https://twitch.tv/positivenotes

I posted about this on the The Newfangled Gazette if you'd like a more detailed explanation, but I thought I'd share a post here, since this blog is where all future updates related to my broadcasting endeavors will be posted.

I seem to vaguely recall having a print newspaper subscription in the early years of my marriage (it's our 20th anniversary this summer). I think it was just a Sunday-paper-only subscription mainly for the coupon section. And the comics, of course. But we eventually cancelled our newspaper subscription like most everyone else, because why pay for a clunky print paper when you can just check the news for free via the Internet any time you want? Well, things have changed a lot since then. I've changed a lot. And I've felt for a few years now that I'd rather get my news via good old-fashioned newspaper again for a number of reasons.

If you've read my previous blog posts, you know that I have long been concerned about the effect modern technology – especially smartphones – has had on me and on humanity in general. I have written about doing media fasts, cutting back my technology use, privacy and security, making sure you use your technology intentionally and that it doesn't use you, and other related topics. Well, I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that over the past 18 months, I have been “off the wagon” when it comes to technology addiction. But for a few weeks now I've been trying something that is helping me snap out of it (again). And I need to share my experience if only to show solidarity with others who are going through this same thing.