I quit Facebook.
I actually did.
The guy who was "always online" , always posting, commenting within 30 secs of a new post/status message, last logged onto Facebook 26 days ago. It wasn't easy , but I did it.
You all might be having the same questions in your minds : " Why? " , "How?" "Are you freakin' mad? "
Well, it all started as a social experiment; I wanted to see the effects/benefits/cons of social networking on my life. And as the saying goes "You don't miss the water until it's gone" , I decided to take a break from Facebook (I'll just use "Fb" in my further references).
It's not like this was the first time I attempted to do this; my first attempt was an utter failure, I logged on within 45 minutes of de-activating my account. That was a few months ago.
This time , my resolve was stronger, I decided to make another attempt.
As I stared at the Blue/white screen displaying a questionnaire asking me to select "why I was leaving Facebook" and that "Person ABC and XYZ were going to miss my presence" , I wondered, would I be able to make it? Would I be able to stay away from the buzz and activity of the Social Network? How could I stay in touch with many of my friends living in far off places? Well, only one way to find out. I hit the button.
The first day off the grid was the hardest; I found myself spontaneously loading the website while I was on a voice chat with mom and dad, only to realize that I'd deactivated my account.And I was quite restless, all the time I was thinking," what is Mr.A upto today? ", "wonder if B.Inc has any special offers for Fb fans today",
"oh its Mrs.C's birthday!If only I could post a greeting on her wall!".
But I also realized that I was now getting a lot more time for myself; I could now take a 30 min power nap at noon post-lunch rather than a measly 15 mins. I also started to spend more time on informative websites , and I started reading as well! It'd been ages since I'd read a decent novel and now since I was free of the routine-disruptive Fb, I had all the time in the world to do so.
My Fb addiction had also made me a bit of an attention-seeker ;I'd post an image/photo/internet meme and wait for someone to "like" it, a behavior akin to a predator seeking its prey.Leaving Fb, put an end to those tendencies.
Another thought I had was, "Well, I've left Fb, surely my 500+ friends are gonna miss my presence." The stark reality is : they didn't (most of them anyway). I bet my dollar that a few of them still don't realize I'm no longer there on Fb. Its not that I'm some weirdo who lives in a the middle of nowhere in a trailer,with eccentric tendencies / strange fetishes.The fact is ,Fb is such a large collage of information / events , its easy to get lost in it.
Also, another thing I realized was that though I was no longer on Fb, I was able to get in touch with most of my friends through other media (Twitter, Email and the Mobile phone). Sure, I lacked the versatility of interacting with everyone on the same platform but hey, I was able to do it.
So, a little more than 3 weeks later, I'm still Fb free and I'm loving it.
Only regret : Why do all the companies require you to login with your Fb ID for those lucky giveaway draws ! :(
UPDATE : After 5 weeks of being Fb free, I finally decided to login and well, apart from a few catchy music videos and a wedding invite or two, there wasn't much happening that piqued my interest.Perhaps the only good thing I require Fb for is to promote my blog posts ! :P
I actually did.
The guy who was "always online" , always posting, commenting within 30 secs of a new post/status message, last logged onto Facebook 26 days ago. It wasn't easy , but I did it.
You all might be having the same questions in your minds : " Why? " , "How?" "Are you freakin' mad? "
Well, it all started as a social experiment; I wanted to see the effects/benefits/cons of social networking on my life. And as the saying goes "You don't miss the water until it's gone" , I decided to take a break from Facebook (I'll just use "Fb" in my further references).
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| Photocredit : ecolumns.net |
This time , my resolve was stronger, I decided to make another attempt.
As I stared at the Blue/white screen displaying a questionnaire asking me to select "why I was leaving Facebook" and that "Person ABC and XYZ were going to miss my presence" , I wondered, would I be able to make it? Would I be able to stay away from the buzz and activity of the Social Network? How could I stay in touch with many of my friends living in far off places? Well, only one way to find out. I hit the button.
The first day off the grid was the hardest; I found myself spontaneously loading the website while I was on a voice chat with mom and dad, only to realize that I'd deactivated my account.And I was quite restless, all the time I was thinking," what is Mr.A upto today? ", "wonder if B.Inc has any special offers for Fb fans today",
"oh its Mrs.C's birthday!If only I could post a greeting on her wall!".
But I also realized that I was now getting a lot more time for myself; I could now take a 30 min power nap at noon post-lunch rather than a measly 15 mins. I also started to spend more time on informative websites , and I started reading as well! It'd been ages since I'd read a decent novel and now since I was free of the routine-disruptive Fb, I had all the time in the world to do so.
My Fb addiction had also made me a bit of an attention-seeker ;I'd post an image/photo/internet meme and wait for someone to "like" it, a behavior akin to a predator seeking its prey.Leaving Fb, put an end to those tendencies.
Another thought I had was, "Well, I've left Fb, surely my 500+ friends are gonna miss my presence." The stark reality is : they didn't (most of them anyway). I bet my dollar that a few of them still don't realize I'm no longer there on Fb. Its not that I'm some weirdo who lives in a the middle of nowhere in a trailer,with eccentric tendencies / strange fetishes.The fact is ,Fb is such a large collage of information / events , its easy to get lost in it.
Also, another thing I realized was that though I was no longer on Fb, I was able to get in touch with most of my friends through other media (Twitter, Email and the Mobile phone). Sure, I lacked the versatility of interacting with everyone on the same platform but hey, I was able to do it.
So, a little more than 3 weeks later, I'm still Fb free and I'm loving it.
Only regret : Why do all the companies require you to login with your Fb ID for those lucky giveaway draws ! :(
UPDATE : After 5 weeks of being Fb free, I finally decided to login and well, apart from a few catchy music videos and a wedding invite or two, there wasn't much happening that piqued my interest.Perhaps the only good thing I require Fb for is to promote my blog posts ! :P
Yay!!! well done will power...
ReplyDeleteHurray for meee ! :P
ReplyDelete