Apparently, there are some communities on this Twitter thing that interact at high frequency.

And apparently there is a community that is called “Bitcoin Twitter” (BT) aka the Toxic Bitcoin Maximalist Online Paradise. Bitcoin twitter is a world of its own. There are really no rules, although there are many common views on various topics outside of bitcoin. It’s a pretty loose network (aside from all the censorship bullshit, but that’s another story.) The community weeds out the bad actors very efficiently.

“Ok Boner, WTF are you getting at?  We all know what Twitter is and we all know what BT is.”

I have repetitively displayed the gratitude that I have for BT and all that it has provided for me, especially during some tough times I have endured since I joined (04/20). It has been a very nice place for me to escape to every once in a while, for a hit of social interaction with some like-minded people during the recent times of insanity.

If only I could keep it to every once in a while… 

It is 12-30-21 and I am doing some year-end self-evaluation / reflection. Overall - did I perform my best this year? Not at all. Did I spend too much time on Bitcoin Twitter during certain periods, which led to this suboptimal performance? Yes… 

This does not sit right with me. I have a visual memory from about 7 years back while sitting in a restaurant waiting area; all members of another family of 5 or so were each glued to their screens. “I will never let my family reach that point”, I thought to myself. And here we are with me being the worst offender! To be honest, my neck muscles have strained at times from looking down at the phone screen so fucking much, it is no bueno.

When I am on Twitter, I am on Twitter. Every chance I get. 5 am - “GM LFG”, and it does not stop. However, when I am off Twitter, I am off. I often tweet I am taking a vacation, unplug, break from Twitter, etc. Sometimes it is a complete failure, and the break doesn’t really happen. And sometimes it is a complete success lasting longer than initially planned. After these breaks I always return with a more balanced approach.

I have noticed I am not the only one who feels this way, as it is not uncommon to see phrases such as:

“I’ll see you in a month.”, “I’ll see you guys at 100k.”, “Taking a vacation from Twitter.”.

There has got to be something to this. How is it that we have to force ourselves to take a break from something that we love so much?

I am far from perfect, and if I am going to be brutally honest with myself I feel like I am neglecting my own family (involuntarily) while engaging with my Bitcoin Family. Most times it feels like a trance, I am sucked in and I do not even consciously notice. I can spend the whole day just going down my timeline, dropping a comment here and there, and tweeting some hopium.

Most Bitcoiners I have met, generally mean well. Like-minded people trying to be the best versions of themselves. The type of people that I try to surround myself with. 

Twitter is great and all, but it can also be a bit of a distraction if you are anything like me. I have a highly addictive personality which is both a gift and a curse, depending upon how it is utilized. (Another character trait which seems to be not so uncommon among the Bitcoin community.)

Unfortunately, and fortunately, my highly addictive personality carries over to Bitcoin and BT. 

I’ve explained this to other Bitcoiners and they look at me and say, “Wtf are you talking about, it's just Twitter.”. Others strongly agree.

While writing this, I have discovered the answer to my question: “How is it that we have to force ourselves to take a break from something that we love so much?”

BECAUSE IT’S FUCKING AWESOME.

I write this as a warning to others with highly addictive personalities like myself. If I like something, I want as much of it as possible. I can easily see negative results coming to the surface if I did not take these breaks from BT from time to time. I suspect these breaks will prolong my presence on the app, which I thoroughly enjoy. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

The best part about a vacation is coming home.