One month ago, on August 30, I deactivated my Facebook account and committed myself to a thirty-day fast in order to focus on my studies. The decision was two fold: 1)Since all of my classes are online, I was concerned that being on the computer all the time would totally warp my brain and 2) (and more importantly) I was concerned about the distraction (and subsequent repercussions) that checking FB would have on my grades.
Now that I am a good month in to grad school, I have realized a few things.
1) I am much more inherently interested in grad school readings than I ever was while getting my bachelor's degree. Therefore, the allure of wasting time on the Internet in lieu of reading is not very strong. I actually thoroughly enjoy reading from both my text books because everything I am reading is interesting and relevant (unlike Anthropology 101- which interestingly enough was my only stupid "B" in college).
2) I am not missing being on Facebook quite like I thought I would. I realize I should have known this since I survived (gasp) a whole three months at NOLS without it! But being out in the back country and avoiding FB is much different than living in the front country and keeping oneself at a distance. The fact of the matter is that I can make it through most days without knowing which of my friends is "hating my day and all who cross my path" or "going out to the clubz with my sick bffs". Not that most of my true friends' postings say these things, but you get the idea.
3) I am enjoying the anonymity of not posting my every day life occurrences on Facebook. I realize that I can be quite the culprit in the aforementioned statements (posting such updates as "on a date with my awesome hubby" or "ladies night with the girls") and it's nice to know that the people who really truly care about me are getting their news by emailing or calling me (or from my blog postings). Haha!
Since I have reached the end of my intended fast, and have figured out to to handle grad school and real life, these thoughts have brought me to the question of whether I should get back on FB or not.
The question sparked a long conversation between Michael and me today-- side note: using "me" is grammatically correct here and it always bugs me when people don't use this particular grammatical rule properly-- culminating in the realization that not having a Facebook account in our generation, is like someone in our parents' generation refusing to buy a cell phone.
Sure, you don't HAVE to have either one of these things to survive and certainly there are many people out there who don't have them and get by just fine. But the fact of the matter is they are relevant, vital pieces of the social aspect of our lives. Cell phones opened the door to being able to contact people at any place and any time. No more waiting around for Sally to be next to the phone in the kitchen to ask if she wanted to go hang out. You could call her in her car, on a walk, or even at the gym.
In much the same way, Facebook is a major way that people communicate and is increasingly becoming the way people do business. It's a fixture of our society and to utterly avoid it causes one to miss out on what's going on in the world- even if that simply means not learning that your friend isn't going to Taco Tuesday tonight.
Now that I am a good month in to grad school, I have realized a few things.
1) I am much more inherently interested in grad school readings than I ever was while getting my bachelor's degree. Therefore, the allure of wasting time on the Internet in lieu of reading is not very strong. I actually thoroughly enjoy reading from both my text books because everything I am reading is interesting and relevant (unlike Anthropology 101- which interestingly enough was my only stupid "B" in college).
2) I am not missing being on Facebook quite like I thought I would. I realize I should have known this since I survived (gasp) a whole three months at NOLS without it! But being out in the back country and avoiding FB is much different than living in the front country and keeping oneself at a distance. The fact of the matter is that I can make it through most days without knowing which of my friends is "hating my day and all who cross my path" or "going out to the clubz with my sick bffs". Not that most of my true friends' postings say these things, but you get the idea.
3) I am enjoying the anonymity of not posting my every day life occurrences on Facebook. I realize that I can be quite the culprit in the aforementioned statements (posting such updates as "on a date with my awesome hubby" or "ladies night with the girls") and it's nice to know that the people who really truly care about me are getting their news by emailing or calling me (or from my blog postings). Haha!
Since I have reached the end of my intended fast, and have figured out to to handle grad school and real life, these thoughts have brought me to the question of whether I should get back on FB or not.
The question sparked a long conversation between Michael and me today-- side note: using "me" is grammatically correct here and it always bugs me when people don't use this particular grammatical rule properly-- culminating in the realization that not having a Facebook account in our generation, is like someone in our parents' generation refusing to buy a cell phone.
Sure, you don't HAVE to have either one of these things to survive and certainly there are many people out there who don't have them and get by just fine. But the fact of the matter is they are relevant, vital pieces of the social aspect of our lives. Cell phones opened the door to being able to contact people at any place and any time. No more waiting around for Sally to be next to the phone in the kitchen to ask if she wanted to go hang out. You could call her in her car, on a walk, or even at the gym.
In much the same way, Facebook is a major way that people communicate and is increasingly becoming the way people do business. It's a fixture of our society and to utterly avoid it causes one to miss out on what's going on in the world- even if that simply means not learning that your friend isn't going to Taco Tuesday tonight.
Posts
1 comments:
Whitney said...
I've basically given up fb too since March. I get on every now and then to check up on my friends who moved to the Republic of Georgia, but that is it. (Sander changed my password and would have to log me in the first few months till I really kicked the habit...I have no self-control)
I feel so free and all the things you said above. It has been so great to just focus on what I have in front of me each day. I feel enabled to put more energy into the friendships that truly matter. I have even mailed a few real cards instead of settling for the fb "happy birthday". I feel old but much more content each day.
Keep it up!