A Half Thought | Do You Think in 140 Characters?

Early in the month of August something terrifying happened to my Facebook profile. First I lost all my friends and lists. Then, I got locked out. Completely.

As an eMarketer, one who runs several business pages on Facebook, "the crash of 2011" was crippling - and quiet. In the quiet while waiting for my page to come back up, one of the most interesting things I learned about myself, was that I think in 140 characters and share-worthy links and family pictures. And research says I'm not the only one.

I like how Jolie O'Dell put it best in her article about Facebook obsession when she said, "Facebook profiles are like belly buttons: Everybody's got one." With 48 percent of 18-34 year-olds checking their Facebook before they get up (and 28 percent of those before they even get out of bed), I know my brain is not only one affected by our culture's social media dependency.

I've taken social media sabbaticals and gone through periods of removing apps from my smartphone, but the damage is done. Standing in the kitchen, barefoot after more than a week cut off from my news feeds, church ministries and out-of-state friends, panic ensued. While people were still emailing and texting and calling me - mostly to ask why I defriended them - it felt like all of me had folded inward. Had I become an introvert again?

After nearly three weeks, my profile is back up, my business pages secured, and I am, admittedly, feeling a little more stable. While I have not reloaded social apps on my smartphone or checked my wall before rolling out of bed, I can say I have gained a profound perspective on how intense my need to share my life with those I am in community with is. And while the statement that social media relationships are superficial is often made, I can say without hesitation my pervasive digital connectedness directly impacts the quality of my life - and for the better.

Happily obsessed.