What My Facebook Famine Taught me

On the first day of class, my professor assigned a task that most students would shudder to think about: abstaining from social media. Well, not all social media, just our favorite site for communicating with the masses. In my case, that meant Facebook. For two whole days, I had to restrain myself from signing in to my lifeline and forgo the satisfaction from the constant stream of status updates from my peers.


As a self-admitted Facebook addict, the first 12 hours were something close to torture. Several times I found myself typing www.faceb... before realizing what I was doing. However, I persevered. Eventually it became easier. The “Facebook cravings” I had slowly became less intense, but over those 48 hours, they never truly went away.


Giving up Facebook was a daunting, and difficult task. Initially I hoped it would make me more productive. Boy, was I wrong. Instead of religiously checking my Facebook, I found salvation in other social networking sites, or on-line activities. I fueled my hunger for knowledge with Twitter. My followers can probably tell you, I tweeted more in the past few days than previous entire weeks. I also used StumbleUpon, and found entertainment with on-line jigsaw puzzles (a little nerdy, I know). In the end, I came to the conclusion, that, yes, Facebook is a distraction, because I want it to be one. Anything is a distraction. Facebook is not the culprit, I am. Whether it’s on Facebook, turning on the TV, or picking up a magazine, doesn’t matter. If I want to distract myself, I will.


Another realization that came from this experiment is just how much I use Facebook in my daily routine. For the most part, my computer always has an open tab dedicated to Facebook or Twitter. However, contrary to some people’s belief, this habit may not be the worst thing for young people. On both sites I follow news sources and read articles. Instead of turning on the news, I simply log onto these sites and find out what happening in the world. Right now, I will admit, my personal social media use leans more towards socialization rather than news. I’m hoping to change that. I realized how much I appreciate both aspects, and want to eventually achieve a balance in my account activity. That is what I believe the future holds.


Society uses social media a great deal. Rather than saying people should stop using it as much, or log more hours on their favorite sites, I believe that there should be a balance, like the one I hope to achieve. For example, use social media less for socialization and posting thousands of pictures of cute baby chipmunks, and more for learning more about what’s going on in the world around us.


I’ve heard statements saying that my generation doesn’t know what’s happening in the world, or have an idea of important news. However, I see differently. Our sources may be less traditional, but when something big happens social media sites explode with activity and posts about it. Social media sites are becoming a one-stop shop for information in every aspect of our lives, and I want to be one of the first in line.

                                                 









http://www.getonfacebookinchina.com/