Bloggers Unplugged

From Twitter to Facebook, Flickr to WordPress, it seems we’ve put our whole lives online. But as vibrant as the Internet community can feel, spending more time online also makes us pine for “old-fashioned” interaction. I know that I have occasionally felt guilty for spending time updating my blog, or putting out tweets, when I could have been relaxing with my family or friends. But a recent survey of perhaps the most active online community, my fellow women bloggers, showed that I’m not alone in wanting to spend more time offline. Even these online mavens like to unwind and unplug.

At BlogHer ’10, the perfect place to get the scoop on bloggers’ motivations and preferences, Liberty Mutual conducted a survey revealing that although our lives may change as we venture further into online communities, our priorities remain the same. For instance, 78% of bloggers polled like to “unplug” for family time- after all, how can you pay attention to your daughter’s dance recital and tweet at the same time? Bloggers know they can use the Internet any time, but moments with family are fleeting and unique, and thus, each is irreplaceable.

But the women surveyed weren’t satisfied with just getting offline to spend time with family. They also preferred to exercise and pursue their hobbies undistracted by their online communities. In fact, as much as these ladies love their online communities, they said that they actually wished they could spend an hour and a half more time away from the Internet each day than they currently do.

As the survey by Liberty Mutual displays, women bloggers work hard to achieve balance between their life online and their brick and mortar life at home. Like any balance, you have to wiggle and wobble each way before finding your center, so it’s no surprise that other women bloggers also feel a little torn between our two communities. But with a little patience and luck we will all and learn when to take a deep breath and unplug!

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.