I tried. I tried. I tried.
I trriiieeeddd sneaking back on
my personal Facebook unnoticed.
I triiieedd traveling incognito.
I failed...
I was only trrryyyyying to reach my Facebook destinations of 'The Writers' Post', 'GBE 2: Blog On' and 'Sandra's Writing Workshop Community.'
When I decided to do my media de-tox and deactivate my personal Facebook page I didn't realize that these amazing writers/writing pages would also deactivate and after trying every which way I knew to attempt to maintain these pages while detoxing from Facebook, it became very clear to me that the only way to be a part of these pages was to reactivate my personal Facebook page and let me just say this, wow.
Just wow.
I wasn't on Facebook two minutes before everyone realized I was on and started messaging me and leaving me messages all over my page! Which, on the one hand is wonderful. It's nice to be missed and in some cases, loved and it feels good to see all of the familiar faces and to reconnect, if only for a brief moment. On the other hand, I could feel myself being sucked back into my greatest time zapper and so I signed out immediately!
I have decided however, given that the majority of the people on my Facebook friends list are in fact friends, people I have known my whole life or have at least met and the fact that I am touched by all of their messages and understand their concerns, all of them knowing of my battle with cancer and the fall out health issues I've been dealing with due to the big C, and, they're my friends ya' know, and they're going through some things too and I should be there for them when they need me. So, I'm going to keep my Facebook active but I'm only going to be interactive on the weekends - with my friends and throughout the week, I'd like to keep up with the writing groups.
BUT
No to Facebook games.
No to daily status updates.
No to indepth drama.
Yes to weekend check ins with friends.
Yes to weekly visits to my writing groups.
That is all.
Needless-to-say, I feel as though I have somewhat failed my media detox to a certain degree but then again, not really because I'm not going to be on Facebook every day. And hey, I'm still t.v. free. So that's a plus! And who knows. If I can find a way to be a part of my writing workshops without having to be on Facebook, I will most definitely deactivate again and just put a shout out for everyone's email addresses and kick it old skool. Who knows.
Posts
17 comments:
There really are so many social media things that are awful time sucks and yes the drama and silliness on FB is sometimes just too much. Good for you for setting some boundaries for yourself.
It's hard to detox completely, especially in this age when networking is so key to getting your name out as a writer. But. At the same time, media can definitely suck out your energy and time. I think the rules you've set are good goals. Best of luck maintaining them :)
@Emmy - Thank you for your support! And you're right, sometimes it is too much!
@db - So I've learned.. :/ And thank you. I think I've put some fair boundaries in place and all should be well. :)
well, glad your'e back that's all I have to say. I think if I deactivated my accounts, I'd fall down a black hole that would feel, well, black. I've found sometimes more support in cyberspace for my own ordeals, ones I don't feel I necessarily can share with immediate family and local friends, so it would very hard to deactivate that connection. On the plus side, I'm no gamer!
I'm sure you know you can block them.
I only pop into fb when I know i have time to waste if i have a to do list I avoid it
Don't think of it as failing, you've still kept some tight boundaries in place and the fact that you're cutting back the amount of time that you'll be spending on fb is still a massive achievement. :)
@Sandra - Thank you! It's good to be very, very partially back. ;)
@Mama - I know that feature well. ;)
@Becca - I just don't even wanna' pop in! Lol..
@Lily - Thank you Lily. That makes me feel MUCH better. You're right. The time I've cut back is a massive achievement. :)
I'm as close to not-online and not-media-connected as I can probably reasonably get. I pop in, I pop back out. Nothing more. There's a great big world out there and we each have a finite number of days. I don't want to spend too many of mine experiencing life via a screen--any type of screen.
@WN - Amen! Excellent. Thank you. :)
I do like that Cousin It you got goin on.
@Mama - I know. I'm cool like that. ;)
You know I miss you, but I so totally understand the pull Facebook has. I also limit my online time, but it isn't and hasn't been a problem for me. I love the interaction and I pop in and out several times a day most days. I'm not one to sit on the putter all day, unless I'm writing and then FB is not part of that kind of day at all.
Whatever works for you is what you need to do and when you pop in, I'll smile a bit!
@Jo - I miss you too.. :( But I don't miss FB, if that makes sense. I'm hoping not accessing every single day for hours on end will break me of the habit so when I do get on I'll just pop on n' off like you. :) And I'll always be sure to stop in and say hi.
MiMi, it doesn't sound like a failure to me. If you can maintain those groups and limit your social interacting in a way that isn't taking from what you desire to be doing outside of the online world, then what's the harm? You'll know it it's working or not...and if not, then you can figure something else out.
When I had a Facebook account a few years ago I was on it way too much. Now I have a personal one and a page for the blog and I'm hardly ever on which sort of defeats the purpose or so I've read. Guess when you have one for a blog, business...whatever you are supposed to on FB interacting and I just can't do it!
Yay on still being TV free...I am too and love it. Going to give it another few weeks to be sure that I'm going to stay uninterested and then I'll have the cable axed. Freedom!
Regardless of how well organized we are, and people taking their smartphones and iPads into the toilet with them (really?), there are still only so many hours in the day. I'm on FB most of the time, but only LOOK at it a few times a day.
Sometimes when I find I am wasting time on something on the 'puter, I have to ask myself - what am I avoiding by doing so?
@Beverely - So true and I can answer that in one word - laundry! Lol.. :) I have those magical, mystical laundry baskets that no matter how many times I empty them, when I turn around they're full again! Wth?? And yeah, taking your phone or iPad into the bathroom?? That is pretty extreme. Thanks for stopping by! :)
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by!
Put the coffee on! I'm heading your way! :D
*FOLLOWS BACK!*