It's been a week and a half since I gave up Facebook for my experimental Lent activity. For the first couple of days, I literally didn't know what to do with my phone or laptop. I would stare aimlessly at both devices trying to figure out how to manage these contraptions without my lifeline. In ten short days I've learned a few things.
1.) I have been seriously neglecting the "real" people in my life. You know, the ones who are actually a part of my life outside of the trap that is Facebook It's amazing how when you're not constantly synced with FB, you feel disconnected from the world, yet after a few days of real live human interaction, you realize just how much you've been missing with the ones you love!
2.) Turns out Facebook isn't the only source of legitimate news! Before social networking, we actually had to reference the news, whether via TV, a newspaper, or a search engine. It's nice to learn of the news without all of the opinionated nonsense that comes with the posting of relevant stories.
3.) I learned that social networking can mean watching a movie with your sweetie.. buying lunch for your coworkers.. smiling and saying hello to random strangers at Wal*Mart. It means making connections. It means you don't have to be staring at a phone or laptop waiting for interaction with someone who may or may not care if you never appear in their news feed again.
4.) I learned that before social networking, life was more simple, more peaceful, more pleasant, and more SOCIAL! It doesn't matter what people think about God, Gays, or Guns because it's SO very unlikely that my little opinion is going to affect theirs, it's just not worth the banter.
There are so many thoughts and events that I would share with Facebook even before I would share with my sweetie. Fact is, there isn't even a handful of people who care where we had dinner, or what movie we're going to see, or what I think of my incompetent coworkers. What a voyeuristic mess we've been lured into! I've no doubt that my return to Facebook will look dramatically different from my former existence. I've had to train myself to ask questions like "is this something others need to know?" and "are the hundred and fifty some odd people on my contact list really essential?" My pre-social networking life was fun and optimistic! Do I really need to be exposed to the constant controversy of 150 (give or take a few) people's ramblings on a daily basis?
Looking forward to the next 30 days and 30 nights!
1.) I have been seriously neglecting the "real" people in my life. You know, the ones who are actually a part of my life outside of the trap that is Facebook It's amazing how when you're not constantly synced with FB, you feel disconnected from the world, yet after a few days of real live human interaction, you realize just how much you've been missing with the ones you love!
2.) Turns out Facebook isn't the only source of legitimate news! Before social networking, we actually had to reference the news, whether via TV, a newspaper, or a search engine. It's nice to learn of the news without all of the opinionated nonsense that comes with the posting of relevant stories.
3.) I learned that social networking can mean watching a movie with your sweetie.. buying lunch for your coworkers.. smiling and saying hello to random strangers at Wal*Mart. It means making connections. It means you don't have to be staring at a phone or laptop waiting for interaction with someone who may or may not care if you never appear in their news feed again.
4.) I learned that before social networking, life was more simple, more peaceful, more pleasant, and more SOCIAL! It doesn't matter what people think about God, Gays, or Guns because it's SO very unlikely that my little opinion is going to affect theirs, it's just not worth the banter.
There are so many thoughts and events that I would share with Facebook even before I would share with my sweetie. Fact is, there isn't even a handful of people who care where we had dinner, or what movie we're going to see, or what I think of my incompetent coworkers. What a voyeuristic mess we've been lured into! I've no doubt that my return to Facebook will look dramatically different from my former existence. I've had to train myself to ask questions like "is this something others need to know?" and "are the hundred and fifty some odd people on my contact list really essential?" My pre-social networking life was fun and optimistic! Do I really need to be exposed to the constant controversy of 150 (give or take a few) people's ramblings on a daily basis?
Looking forward to the next 30 days and 30 nights!
Thanks for sharing Jennifer!
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