15 days down, 15 days to go. It feels like I have been away from Facebook for months. It really does. It is amazing how detached I feel from communications with others. At the same time I feel liberated. I am sleeping better, reading books, and getting art projects done. I still have a laundry list of MUST DOs, which I hope to take care of during this social media vacation. I do admit that I meander onto Google Plus from time to time, and probably use my cell phone to text a little more socially then usual. All in all, its been a nice break.
While I still feel the urge to get on Facebook, I have been really busy and productive with other projects. I figure I typically spend a half an hour to an hour per day of Facebook, sometimes longer if I start playing mindless mini games. Facebook is just a little too labor intensive for me when trying ti multi-task with other projects. Youtube (especially Ted Talks), music and/or Justin TV have been great entertainment background noise for me while working on other projects and more than fills the void that Facebook left behind.
My plan is to find a happy medium for my future Facebook usage. A fifteen minute session to catch up on important things or communications and then logging off for the night. I plan to give this schedule a try on October 16th when I make my return to Facebook. I will be Faceback.
Showing posts with label facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label facebook. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
5 days with 25 days left to go
I have given up Facebook for 30 days in an effort to curb my addictive tendencies towards the social media website. Yes, I am on a Facebook fast! It has only been 5 days and yet it feels like weeks. I feel oddly disconnected, and oddly at peace. There are so many moments in between doing tasks where my instinct is to check Facebook. After I eat...check Facebook. After I watch a video on Youtube...check Facebook. After I wake up from a nap....check Facebook. I had no idea how many times this urge appears over the course of a day.
I am already fantasizing about the 31st day. When the fast is over, I will log into Facebook and see a bunch of messages and tons of notifications. Oh how sweet it will be. I will feel so popular. However, the whole point of this fast was to turn my attention to other things, art projects, blogging, daily chores, showering.
I woke up today and I had a bad hangover and I questioned if in my unplanned drunken night, that I may have broke my fast. It would be quite a failure. I do not get drunk very often, but last night I did. Way too drunk actually. Enough to drunk dial people and even drunk e-mail some people. I have only done this a handful of times in my life and it is not very flattering. Meanwhile, I was very nervous to check my browsing history but found that I had somehow held true to fast even in my drunken stupor. Lucky me. But giving up getting that drunk should be my first adjective, because that is never fun. Thankfully, I held true to my vow and hope not throw my own monkey into my wrenches....if that makes any sense.
25 days left to go.
And when it is all over I plan to set new limits and expectations on my use and abuse of social media.
I am already fantasizing about the 31st day. When the fast is over, I will log into Facebook and see a bunch of messages and tons of notifications. Oh how sweet it will be. I will feel so popular. However, the whole point of this fast was to turn my attention to other things, art projects, blogging, daily chores, showering.
I woke up today and I had a bad hangover and I questioned if in my unplanned drunken night, that I may have broke my fast. It would be quite a failure. I do not get drunk very often, but last night I did. Way too drunk actually. Enough to drunk dial people and even drunk e-mail some people. I have only done this a handful of times in my life and it is not very flattering. Meanwhile, I was very nervous to check my browsing history but found that I had somehow held true to fast even in my drunken stupor. Lucky me. But giving up getting that drunk should be my first adjective, because that is never fun. Thankfully, I held true to my vow and hope not throw my own monkey into my wrenches....if that makes any sense.
25 days left to go.
And when it is all over I plan to set new limits and expectations on my use and abuse of social media.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Give up Facebook? Is it worth it?
In place of Facebook, I will meditate. I will log on to the social media of my mind.
Last week, I wrote a blog about my 30 day Facebook Fast. In one week I am going to attempt this social media fast and not log in to Facebook for 30 days. Like an addict, I am already fearing the worst. You can read all about the goals and reasoning of my fast in my last post.
This post is in regard to the massive support I have received from friends and fellow bloggers. I know a handful of great people, mostly from Maine, who do not use Facebook at all. I also know a lot of people who begrudgingly use Facebook. I got a lot of support from people who also feel they themselve abuse social media sites and get sucked into spending way too much time on them. I also got a lot of people defending their own use of Facebook. A lot of these conversations took place....on Facebook.
This brings me back to functionality of a social site like Facebook. While I write the blog post on my blog, only a handful of people actually come over to my blog, and even less people leave comments. I love those of you who do leave comments, please leave more comments on my blogs. But the point I am trying to make, is that actual conversations and discussions of value can take place on Facebook. There is content. There is an ability to contact people. There is an easy way to keep up with people's doings. All of these things I am fine with and enjoy. For me, I also love Facebook for being able to present my artwork, my blogs, and subjects of conversation to my friends. It's a business tool as well as a social tool. Okay, so now that I am telling you all the reasons to 'LIKE' Facebook. Now, I want to once again explain why Facebook is addictive and corrosive.
Facebook is designed to be an endless loop of snooping, mini games, and advertisements. Your friends, people we like and our interested, provide content and we make Facebook money by sitting on the site posting new content for our friends to consume. We feel like we are engaging in community or friendship and really we are just helping Facebook sell ads. Okay, we are actually communicating with our friends, that part is real, but everything is designed to keep us checking back every two minutes. The mini games are designed to make you come back each day to get a special item, a free bonus, a free spin, an every day multiplier, a little cookie prize when we return. I find myself doing tasks and immediately returning to Facebook to see if anything changed. This is unnecessary, but hard to stop. My issue is with Facebook's sheer addictive power.
When I go on my 30 day fast, I can cheat a little bit because I can post a Twitter update and without logging into Facebook, the Twitter will automatically update my Facebook page. It's pretty cool actually, and a good way to still use Facebook as an advertising tool for my work, while still avoiding ever logging into it. I want to take this 30 days to work on the 40,000 projects I need to be doing. Maybe I will even do some house chores or clean out my jungle of a car. Could I do all these things and still use Facebook? Sure. But I want my time away from Facebook to be productive and constructive. The last thing I want is to find myself spending time of Myspace instead. That would be the ultimate blow to my will power.
Have you ever considered quitting a social media site? Do you find yourself spending to much time on a particular website? What/How do you make time for things like social media and what role do they play in your life?
In place of Facebook, I will meditate. I will log on to the social media of my mind.
Last week, I wrote a blog about my 30 day Facebook Fast. In one week I am going to attempt this social media fast and not log in to Facebook for 30 days. Like an addict, I am already fearing the worst. You can read all about the goals and reasoning of my fast in my last post.
This post is in regard to the massive support I have received from friends and fellow bloggers. I know a handful of great people, mostly from Maine, who do not use Facebook at all. I also know a lot of people who begrudgingly use Facebook. I got a lot of support from people who also feel they themselve abuse social media sites and get sucked into spending way too much time on them. I also got a lot of people defending their own use of Facebook. A lot of these conversations took place....on Facebook.
This brings me back to functionality of a social site like Facebook. While I write the blog post on my blog, only a handful of people actually come over to my blog, and even less people leave comments. I love those of you who do leave comments, please leave more comments on my blogs. But the point I am trying to make, is that actual conversations and discussions of value can take place on Facebook. There is content. There is an ability to contact people. There is an easy way to keep up with people's doings. All of these things I am fine with and enjoy. For me, I also love Facebook for being able to present my artwork, my blogs, and subjects of conversation to my friends. It's a business tool as well as a social tool. Okay, so now that I am telling you all the reasons to 'LIKE' Facebook. Now, I want to once again explain why Facebook is addictive and corrosive.
Facebook is designed to be an endless loop of snooping, mini games, and advertisements. Your friends, people we like and our interested, provide content and we make Facebook money by sitting on the site posting new content for our friends to consume. We feel like we are engaging in community or friendship and really we are just helping Facebook sell ads. Okay, we are actually communicating with our friends, that part is real, but everything is designed to keep us checking back every two minutes. The mini games are designed to make you come back each day to get a special item, a free bonus, a free spin, an every day multiplier, a little cookie prize when we return. I find myself doing tasks and immediately returning to Facebook to see if anything changed. This is unnecessary, but hard to stop. My issue is with Facebook's sheer addictive power.
When I go on my 30 day fast, I can cheat a little bit because I can post a Twitter update and without logging into Facebook, the Twitter will automatically update my Facebook page. It's pretty cool actually, and a good way to still use Facebook as an advertising tool for my work, while still avoiding ever logging into it. I want to take this 30 days to work on the 40,000 projects I need to be doing. Maybe I will even do some house chores or clean out my jungle of a car. Could I do all these things and still use Facebook? Sure. But I want my time away from Facebook to be productive and constructive. The last thing I want is to find myself spending time of Myspace instead. That would be the ultimate blow to my will power.
Have you ever considered quitting a social media site? Do you find yourself spending to much time on a particular website? What/How do you make time for things like social media and what role do they play in your life?
In place of Facebook, I will meditate. I will log on to the social media of my mind.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Facebook Fast: giving up the social media site for 30 days
On September 10th, I am going to quit Facebook for 30 days. A social media cleansing. A Facebook Fast. I need to a take a break.
On an average day: I come home from work. I open up my laptop. I log on to Facebook. It only takes 5 minutes to read notifications, respond to messages, accept friend requests. However, I continue to sit on Facebook browsing photos, wall posts, and worst of all playing mini games. While I may eat a meal, watch a documentary, watch youtube videos, or read articles at the same time, Facebook is constantly open in the background.
I will admit my real 'need' for Facebook is less social, and more promotional. I use Facebook as a means to promote my true passion in life, being a visual artist. Facebook helps me tell friends about artwork for sale, art show opening, events, gain inspiration and collaborate with other artists. It is only a bonus that I can keep up with friends and make new ones along the way. But, especially since returning to Minnesota, the amount of time I spend logged on to Facebook is alarming to me. I am actually very anti-Facebook, I even have this bumper sticker on my car:
'Facebook Erodes Real Communties. Let's stop staring at screens and talk to our neighbors. Organize a potluck. Start playing music with friends. Go for a bike ride. Learn to start fire with sticks.' This was made by a friend of mine, and I really agree with it. However, I am a massive hypocrite when I step out of my car and sit down in front of my computer.
The sticker shares space with my 'Coexist' bumber sticker and my 'I heart (lobster) Maine' sticker.
It also sits right below my 'Fear No Art' bumper sticker.
I will admit that Facebook makes loneliness a little less bitter. I am a nearly 30 year old artist, with no kids, and no wife; and I am not complaining about it. I can easily to find myself alone in front of the computer spilling hours of my life into something I do not believe in. Facebook is an easy fall back, and creates a false feeling of connection to people when you are away from them. The transition from the Midwest to Maine and back again has been difficult for many reasons, and for some reason the last few weeks of my life I am resorting to Tetris and digging for imaginary digital treasure instead of doing to thousands of things I want to be doing with my life.
During my Facebook Fast I will refocus my life and set new goals. This means that you will see a lot more posts being created on my art blog. Hopefully I will have more to say, and more time to say it.
On an average day: I come home from work. I open up my laptop. I log on to Facebook. It only takes 5 minutes to read notifications, respond to messages, accept friend requests. However, I continue to sit on Facebook browsing photos, wall posts, and worst of all playing mini games. While I may eat a meal, watch a documentary, watch youtube videos, or read articles at the same time, Facebook is constantly open in the background.
I will admit my real 'need' for Facebook is less social, and more promotional. I use Facebook as a means to promote my true passion in life, being a visual artist. Facebook helps me tell friends about artwork for sale, art show opening, events, gain inspiration and collaborate with other artists. It is only a bonus that I can keep up with friends and make new ones along the way. But, especially since returning to Minnesota, the amount of time I spend logged on to Facebook is alarming to me. I am actually very anti-Facebook, I even have this bumper sticker on my car:
'Facebook Erodes Real Communties. Let's stop staring at screens and talk to our neighbors. Organize a potluck. Start playing music with friends. Go for a bike ride. Learn to start fire with sticks.' This was made by a friend of mine, and I really agree with it. However, I am a massive hypocrite when I step out of my car and sit down in front of my computer.
The sticker shares space with my 'Coexist' bumber sticker and my 'I heart (lobster) Maine' sticker.
It also sits right below my 'Fear No Art' bumper sticker. I will admit that Facebook makes loneliness a little less bitter. I am a nearly 30 year old artist, with no kids, and no wife; and I am not complaining about it. I can easily to find myself alone in front of the computer spilling hours of my life into something I do not believe in. Facebook is an easy fall back, and creates a false feeling of connection to people when you are away from them. The transition from the Midwest to Maine and back again has been difficult for many reasons, and for some reason the last few weeks of my life I am resorting to Tetris and digging for imaginary digital treasure instead of doing to thousands of things I want to be doing with my life.
During my Facebook Fast I will refocus my life and set new goals. This means that you will see a lot more posts being created on my art blog. Hopefully I will have more to say, and more time to say it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)