Have You Twittered Away Your Summer?

[Commentary] Twitter and Facebook compel us to chronicle the moment often at the expense of being in it.

I treasure this summer's vacation photos, almost every one taken by a wife who's thanklessly served as our clan's recording secretary. But I've been wondering how to strike the right bargain between the present and posterity, between keeping a scrapbook of my life without scrapping the essence of life itself. It's a balance I'll probably struggle with next summer, and for many summers to come.

[Heitman is a columnist for the Advocate newspaper in Louisiana]