[This post originally appeared on Antonia’s Blog at Social Glitz. Normally we don’t repost materials, but this particular piece merited an exception. — Ed.]

There’s something I’m increasingly starting to notice about myself and before you ask, no, I do not like what I’m noticing. Like not at all. I have issues. Serious issues. Not *that* kind of issues but issues nonetheless. I tweet a lot. I facebook a lot. I spend a lot of time reading blogs. I take pictures of my smoothie to then put them on Facebook and Twitter because I’m so excited about drinking a smoothie. That, my friends, I call a serious issue. Not to mention, the nature of my job fosters this bad habit. But hell, I enjoy my job! Now what?

Thanks to the digital age, I often miss the point of the simple things right in front of me. Enjoy the moment, Antonia. Oh and whilst you are at it, grasp the period of solitude with both hands and hold onto it as long as possible. Trouble is my hands are too busy tweeting about the moment I’m apparently enjoying right now to start thinking about holding onto any moment of solitude. (Issues!!)

Technology has made so many strides in the past decade and has had such a tremendous impact on our lives that remembering a time when a simple postcard was considered a sufficient means of communication seems impossible. The benefits of these new communication technologies, which btw have almost become as important as breathing, are indisputable. We tap into Twitter, Facebook & FriendFeed wherever we are only to guarantee that we have our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the lives of our families, friends and also, let’s not forget, the world. We don’t want to miss the news. And when I say we, I mean me.

And this stresses me. A lot. My mind is running on full speed 24/7. Every single day. Things that are being said online make me laugh, make me sad, make me want to hug or punch people. They evoke every possible emotion in my body that offline life does. Nice. But also annoying because sometimes it takes too big of an effect on how I enjoy the life that I’m supposed to be living instead of tweeting.

I clearly don’t know how to unplug. Also, my concentration span has developed to the one of a fish. I crave constant stimulation. Or I get bored. At first, technology and the Internet felt like an amazing opportunity to expand my horizons, in effect it’s made me a slave to its power.

The life we are living online is so fast-paced that our offline life, that’s just as fast-paced, takes a back seat. It goes without saying that massive positives come out of technology. It allows us to stay in touch with friends and family all over the world and it really is a huge privilege to have such a wealth of information on our fingertips. But where will it end? Can we even learn to truly unplug?  Those are the questions we should be asking ourselves while enjoying the ride.

At the end of the day, the Internet was invented to be our servant not our master.

How about you? Are you too busy tweeting to care & live the life right in front of you? Or have you found a way to truly unplug and leave your online life behind to truly enjoy your offline one?

Antonia work at Paratus Communications in London. Yah, that’s right, she’s the girl who got a job through a blog post. This just proves her awesomeness.