DanSlott

Dan Slott · @DanSlott

27th Jul 2015 from TwitLonger

My emails and twitter notifications are a weird mix that seem random and scattershot at first:

A notice that someone tried 5 failed password attempts to try to pose as me on a message board.

An email from a friend who says their house feels empty now that I'm not there.

Someone saying how much they're enjoying Mike, Laura, and my Silver Surfer book.

Someone else tagging me to tell me I should stop writing comics.

A fellow creator taking shots at how Marvel's marketing a book I'm working on-- w/o considering how his comments reflect on my creative team and the editorial team we work with.

Another creator sending me a silly doodle.

I look at all of those scattershot messages coming through high speed cables and showing up as pixels on my screen-- and a pattern emerges. It's heightened reality. The bright parts are brighter, but the dark parts are so much darker.

You're supposed to grow a thick skin and let the annoying or hurtful stuff bounce off, and only let the nice and personal things in. But we are who we are-- and I'm not built that way.

Went on a working holiday for 10 days. During that time I sliced my social media in half (didn't check my FB till I was home) and didn't go on any message boards. And I was genuinely a happier/less stressed person. Well... at least on that front.

I walked more. Got more sunshine. Saw less walls from the inside. Had more real world human interactions instead of the cyber stand-in version. I think I should keep that up-- even though I'm back home.

Basically, it's probably for the best if I spend more time offline.

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