Picking up from yesterday –
I used to be great at not using Facebook too often. Since I didn’t really like it, I always kept in mind what it was for, and used it accordingly.
But, somewhere in probably the past year, I started using it way too much.
I think a lot of it had to do with giving updates on my 52 half marathons project – though obviously I have a blog. So, I didn’t need to Facebook about it.
I also got a twitter and public Facebook later in the year. Those were way more helpful, and made way more sense.
Since my public profiles are still pretty new, I think I liked the idea that maybe some people would actually be liking stuff if I posted things on an established profile.
But, that was needy – and not in a fun, cute just-barely-needy-way, but in an I’m annoyed with myself because as much as I loved having support, I should’ve felt enough from close friends, blog followers, and people who follow my public accounts – without needing to go into icky Facebook land.
I’m getting on a tangent (not surprisingly to readers of this blog). I think that mixed with that job I had last year. I had a lot of time when I was just waiting for footage to transfer, with not much else to do.
I also just never seemed to really get it together. I so often felt way too tired, ’cause I never got used to getting up early. So, I supplemented that with lots of sugar and caffeine – which just made me more tired.
And Facebook is a great way to waste time to make the day go by without really having to concentrate hard or think – perfect for a tired person with time on her hands waiting for files to transfer (or just trying to stay awake on the bus ride home).
I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. I’m just trying to pinpoint a little how it all went wrong. So, I started using Facebook too often, for sure. A month ago, I stopped really using Facebook a lot. I make sure to actually sign in and out anytime I want to use it. Forget this whole “keep me logged in” thing. I want to make the conscious decision each time I go to the website – do I actually want to look at Facebook, or am I mindlessly looking at it? What am I avoiding right now?
I set it so that I don’t get so many email notifications. I do still get them if I get a new message. So, in the past month, I’ve mainly gone on just if I get an email telling me someone’s messaged me – so I can respond.
When I do go on, I don’t scroll through my newsfeed. I have actually seen a couple of things right at the top of the newsfeed (when I signed in) that I was happy I saw.
(A friend of mine started a web comic after talking about doing it for a while. So, I was really happy to see that. And actually, I randomly found out someone I hadn’t talked to in a bit was in Ohio when I was – and I probably wouldn’t have heard about that otherwise.)
So, you know, Facebook can give a little jolt of good or helpful news. I will admit that. But, I’m not missing out on too much by being, for the most part, pretty away from it.
I have felt so wonderful – definitely way happier – not checking Facebook every day, or even every other day. Whenever I’ve thought about mindlessly going on Facebook, I read something, or text a friend, or look for an interesting article or book online. I enrich my day so much more that way.
And to the other complaint I had yesterday – I’ve run out of space in this blog. So, I’ll get to it tomorrow.