I’ve given up Facebook! Wow! Just typing it feels empowering. Well, Let me slow down a bit, it’s like day 3! I’m not going to say this isn’t hard. It is. I don’t think it should be, I’m a grown ass woman with responsibilities but trust me, it is. If you’ve ever tried this, you understand what I’m talking about.
I mean, what did I do with my time 10 years ago? 10 YEARS! I’ve been a slave to this for that long. Saying that aloud is a little more sobering than I thought! But seriously, how did we manage without it? I mean there was the whole raising teenagers thing, and working ungodly hours at the hospital and maintaining a household. So how did I ever find the time in the first place right? I think it was gradual. At first, for like the first few years I didn’t even understand how it worked, so it was an every now and then thing that caused more frustration than it was worth. These were the “Facebook illiterate” years.
But then those crafty little techno hipsters at Facebook got wise to the struggles of the “Facebook challenged” and started making it easier to figure it out, Hell, they even started gearing it towards us! (Eye rolling the whole time I’m sure as they wrote the middle age algorithms) the next thing I knew, it was the first thing I did when I opened my eyes, my morning cigarette so to say! I had to have it. My excuse of course was it was “a way to stay in touch with family” or “share pictures” and it is good for those things. It’s helped me reunite with old friends, but really It feeds into our FOMO! A soapbox for shouting your opinions, (some people use this more than others and shouldn’t) and our voyeuristic tendencies as humans. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Unfortunately as technology makes leaps and bounds daily, there are darker sinister forces that use all of this to their benefit. Most of the pragmatic, sensible among us can see right through this and move along, unfortunately common sense doesn’t grow in everyone’s garden. This has become a little exhausting for me lately. So I decided to take a break.
This is what I’ve noticed in the past 3 days…
1. I had no idea how many times a day I picked up my phone to check it. It’s a lot.
2. I had no idea how difficult it would be to not have it, to just mindlessly scroll through.
3. I had no idea how much nonsense I chronicled about my day. Until you have nothing to post on.
4. This is the hardest. The FOMO. That doesn’t end with the teen years. I clearly still have it. Bad! I hate not being in the loop.
So this is where I am, Day 3. Is it hard? Yes. It really is an addiction. Is it the hardest thing I’ve had to do? NO. I think anyone can do it if they try. I’m not saying I’m giving it up forever. Just a brain break for a while. I think it’s good for us to technology detox occasionally. (I’ll check in on day 10!)
Besides, there’s always Pinterest! 😉
Happy Instagramming.
M.
The real life adventures of a Creole Gypsy 