Facebook Fast

It has been almost exactly one week since I agreed to not use my Facebook, and I have to say the results have been interesting. When I first learned that this was part of my class assignments I was very annoyed- I will not lie. I was even more annoyed that I had to give up Facebook and make a Twitter because I chose for a very long time not to use Twitter. After this week, I have realized that my Facebook addiction was more serious than I thought, but I think if I made the effort I could eventually give it up for good.

I never really thought of myself as a Facebook addict. I do not post multiple statuses in a day or comment on every single person’s pictures. In actuality, I might post one status a month and change my profile picture every couple of months I must admit I judge the people who are constantly showing up on my newsfeed, but this week made me realize I could be just as addicted as they are. Although I may not constantly post like other Facebook users, I am on Facebook enough to see all of their posts. This was a real eye-opener for me. The first few days of my Facebook fast were surprisingly difficult. I found myself immediately going to the app first thing in the morning or opening up a tab as soon as I turned on my computer. I did catch myself, but I couldn’t believe looking at Facebook was such a natural reflex!

As I tried to figure out why I wanted to go on Facebook so much, other changes in my time spent using my phone and computer happened. Since I could not check Facebook, I have been checking my Instagram way more often. The problem with this is that I do not follow a lot of people on Instagram, so I had to turn to other places for entertainment during my free time. I relied on Pinterest to fill the rest of the void that had been created in my life, but it still was not enough! Facebook had become more than just a filler in my life- it filled EVERY SECOND OF MY FREE TIME!

I will not lie; this realization made me feel like crap. But once I started talking to fellow classmates and my friends about how disappointed I was in my addiction to Facebook, I realized that I use Facebook for a lot more than just reading statuses. Yes, reading those statuses provide entertainment, but if you asked me a minute after I read my newsfeed what those people said I would not be able to tell you. I have come to realize that I rely on Facebook so much because it allows me to connect with the people who are not right infront of my quickly and easily. I am an avid Facebook creeper, but throughout this week when someone was mentioned and I forgot about them or did not know what they looked like, I could not look them up and I found that very frustrating. I also use Facebook to quickly message my friends from home and my family who I do not get to see every day. I could text these people, but I used Facebook to talk to everyone at once while I was also doing other things or I found out something going on in their lives through Facebook and that was why I wanted to talk to them in the first place. Without this tool for socialization, I felt a big void in my life especially during my free time.

Although I am happy to get Facebook back, these last couple of days have been easier. I do not find myself going to check as much or wasting as much time on other websites trying to fill the void. While I will not say losing Facebook has made me more productive, I do think I spent my free time doing better things. I also began to like the feeling of not having my face in my phone; it was very refreshing. I feel that if I do decide to give up Facebook for good one day I will be able to do it, but for now I think I might take week long fasts more often.

 

P.S.

I am very excited to share my new netiquette knowledge with my fellow Facebook friends

Perhaps the Bird?

I’ll admit: when I first found out I had to give up Facebook for a week, I was pretty cocky about it. I’d gone without it for much longer before and I barely even missed it. I figured, hey, I use Tumblr more often anyway, this is going to be a breeze.

And in certain aspects, it was. I have gone the week successfully without checking Facebook once. I deleted the app from my phone and took down the shortcut from Chrome. I didn’t go through withdrawal like an addict, unable to sleep dreaming of my next fix, feeling imaginary ants crawling all over my skin (is that even a symptom of withdrawal..?). But, I have to say, I’m happy I’m getting it back tomorrow. See, what made not having Facebook hard was the fact that I’ve come to depend on it for communication in a lot of ways. Three of my friends and I have this ongoing chat affectionately titled “Coven de brujas” (de brujas meaning of witches in Spanish), the last of many inside jokes.

That became the easiest way to contact three of my closest friends for a whole bunch of things. As I’m from North Jersey, two of the chat members live far away, so this chat became the closest thing we have to hanging out together in real life. Sometimes we’d send a link to something moronic and anger-inducing so we can share how mad we are with each other. Other times, it’s asking for an opinion, and I’ve even posted written assignments for them to proofread. It was this chat that I missed the most this past week. I would find myself wanting to share something with them, but when I realized I couldn’t post it on the chat, I felt at a loss. There wasn’t a convenient way to send them all a link and have their shared response. The most recent example I can thing of is this necklace: I wanted to buy it, but I couldn’t choose between the bird or the cage.

Without facebook, I had to settle for other methods of communication. I ended up texting them, but that took away the option to send them to the listing itself.

This example probably seems like a minor inconvenience, and it was. Honestly, that’s what not having Facebook for a week was: a minor inconvenience.

A day after I stopped using the site, I got a haircut. It was a pretty dramatic change in length, and I was feeling a bit insecure about it. What I wanted to do, as everyone does when they change their appearance somehow, was post a picture to Facebook to show it off. I thought maybe a few likes would help me feel more confident about my new hair, but then I remembered I couldn’t. Along with the times I missed the Coven De Brujas, this was the only time I really missed Facebook. I eventually settled for posting a picture on Instagram and on Tumblr, and I did end up getting a few likes and comments, and I did feel better about it.

This week has shown me that I don’t really need Facebook, but I’m still glad to get it back.

P.S.

I still haven’t decided on whether I want the bird or the cage, so feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions!

My Week Without Facebook

So, I have gone this week without using Facebook.  It was to see what it was like to not use a site that so many of us so use so often.  For me, I felt fine without using my Facebook because I am not on it as much.  I barely post statuses or pictures.  I mainly use my Facebook to see if I have any messages from clubs I am a part of at Rowan or to just see what people are up to by scrolling through my newsfeed.  For me, it is a boredom buster or a way to procrastinate on doing my work or something I check before I go to bed.  My friends and I use texting and Twitter more to chat, so I don’t expect to see many messages from them.  I didn’t let them know that I was going to be gone from Facebook, either, and surprisingly enough not one of them has said anything.  I also did not deactivate my account, so my profile is still up. There is just no one behind the profile for a week controlling what it says or does.  I don’t post much on Facebook to begin with, so people probably just assumed it was a typical week, but for those that post a lot I could see where friends or family would wonder why they haven’t posted in a while.  It is crazy to think that there is just a profile out there with no one controlling it.  While I really didn’t mind the week without Facebook, I will say that I am curious about what’s happening.  I just want to log on and see what’s happening, which is quite easy to do, but then that would ruin the whole experiment.

You are probably thinking that I am crazy when I say that going on Facebook really didn’t affect me that much this week.  It’s true though.  While I am curious about what is going on, I have learned there are others ways to find out information or keep in touch with people.  Without Facebook, I have been using Twitter a lot more.  After this week of exploring Twitter more, I think that it is a powerful social media site that can connect individuals and allow for easier networking than Facebook.  In an instant you can follow someone on Twitter, instead of having to request to be someone’s friend.  This allows you to begin to compile followers] from around the world.  Your followers can be friends, colleagues, or people in your professional field.  I think that the last one is important because the more that you network with individuals in your field, the more you can learn and network with them.  I have started to search for people that are teachers or in the teaching profession to see what types of things they post.  They post tips, quotes, or advice about ideas for the classroom or ways to stay motivated.  This shows that teachers can collaborate in ways that go beyond their school, and extend around the world.

While Facebook does have the ability to connect people around the world, Twitter seems to allow us to do it with more ease.  Followers can be easier to compile, and it is easier to find people in your professional field.  I guess that this week without Facebook has shown me the advantages to another social networking site.  Facebook took a back seat, and I was able to see what it was like without it and think about why we use it so much.  Facebook may be addiction for many, or maybe it is simply just something to pass the time or to procrastinate.  Whatever your use for Facebook is:  Would you ever think about taking a week away from it?  Would you let people know?  Would you deactivate the account completely?  Would it make you use another social networking site more?  You could see what would happen, and possibly learn a lot about yourself, such as, the extent to which Facebook is a part of your life, and the power of different types of social media.

This video shows the extent to how much Facebook has really grown around the world and how many people use the site.

 

Face(book)less self

Facebook has become such a big part of my life. One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning, and one of the last things I do before I go to sleep in check my Facebook Newsfeed. While some people may view this as obsessive, there are plenty of other people that are more obsessed than I am. For my Introduction to Writing Arts class, one of the assignments was to stop using Facebook for a week.  I never thought I would be able to go a day, let alone a whole week, without Facebook. To my surprise, within two days of not using it, I didn’t miss it

Facebook logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

However, I have found that the amount of time I spend on other social media sites, such as Twitter and Instagram, has increased. One would think that with all the extra time I have from not scrolling mindlessly through my newsfeed would make me more productive and I would use this extra time for things that really matters, like homework, but that’s not the case. I also have found that the amount of text messages and phone calls that I make during the day has also increased. This is because one of my main sources of communication has been taken away. Instead of sending that quick Facebook message, I now have to call or text the person that I want to get in touch with. This has brought up a big problem for me. I am extremely close with my family. Of course this week, my parents are in the lovely island of Jamaica…without me. With no desire to pay International calling fees, my parents told me to contact them through Facebook if I needed anything. Well, as of Thursday, that plan went out the window. I wonder what my parents are thinking… “We go away for one vacation without her and she won’t talk to us,” “She must be having so much fun without us nagging her every two seconds.” Well, Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, I promise that I miss you guys, I’m just not allowed to use the only communication device we have for the next week, SORRY! BTW, I can’t see all the wonderful beach pictures you are posting, so I’m not jealous of your vacation…yet…

One of the most interesting things that I have gotten out of this experiment is to see my family, friends, and peers reactions. I decided to take this a step further and completely deactivate my account for the week. While I got countless phone calls and text messages asking whether my boyfriend and I broke up (our names are no longer linked, since I deactivated the account), or why I haven’t answered the group chat with my friends, I realized that the picture that had once been attached to my name on all of my friends walls from comments, pictures, posts, etc, is now gone. I am, in fact, Face(book) less. I do not have a Facebook for the next 3 days, but even more, I no longer have a face on that social media site. This should be an important aspect for this blog on permanence to address. Sure, all my information, pictures, and videos are still out there on the internet, but when I deactivate my Facebook, what happens to those things? Where do they go? I know that it is possible to reactive my Facebook by just signing into the site, and suddenly all my things are back. But where do they go when my account is deactivated? It’s kind of a strange thing to think about, but for now, I’m happy with my week without Facebook. Maybe my obsession with checking my newsfeed every 2 minutes will diminish after this week is over. But then again, I’m a college student who looks for anything to use as a form of procrastination…so probably not.

This is a video of a guy that stopped using Facebook for a week, too! A Week Without Facebook