For 2 weeks, at a minimum, we will deliberately cut ourselves off from both the modern forms of communication. Why? For many reasons.
The main reason, announced via a note on my Facebook profile, reads as follows:
"I've come to realize, technology rules my life. I sit on Facebook for hours on end, having distant conversations with distant people. No real emotion, no real interaction, all simply a mask. I have degraded myself with Facebook, and my cellphone, and constant contact to the "real(?)" world. I think it's time I severe my dependence on it."
There is always a state of craving and longing, which will reveal itself sporadically throughout the 2 weeks of self-imposed virtual exile, when one denies themselves of something they used to rely on to such an incredibly addicting extent. I already feel both a mix of coming distress, as well as coming relief at the idea that, within about an hour and 45 minutes, I will no longer be active on Facebook, nor texting.
The thing to do is to persevere through those moments of longing and discomfort, and, in doing so, forcing yourself through a restrictive wall that once held you back from something you've been longing for all your life. In this case, it's something I'm not entirely sure of, that I have been longing for since the onset of my teenage years. This will be a journey in which I will disconnect in order to reconnect.
This does not mean I will be abandoning all technology; not by any means. I will still use a computer, and, who knows? I may be on it just as much, if not more often than prior to closing my Facebook account. The thing is, I will be using it for more constructive things, like more blog posts, for example... documenting to the world my couple of weeks of both self-denial, as well as increased personal freedom from the cage that I myself placed my mind in.
If I find I prefer my life without Facebook or texting, I may decide to keep it that way. Most likely, however, I will have ripped myself free of Facebook's escapist void, and will return after 2 weeks to re-instate myself as a casual user.
I believe my freedom from Facebook will increase my sociability in the real world, and will make me appreciate my time with real people all the more, especially those who are close to me, and who I feel I distribute too thinly my concentrations of interaction with them. This will cause me to truly appreciate who I have in my life, as well as what I have, and what I have neglected to do in the real world, both alone, and with others.
Between now and 7 PM PST, I will be deliberately running my minutes on my phone down to $0.00, and at 7 PM PST sharp, I will be closing my Facebook account until sometime on February 20th, 2011, earliest.
I'm on a mission to fall in love with life once again.
Nice! I did that over the summer past, with the intent of vein more productive, more "creative" rather than "consumptive." I'd definitely say it's something everyone should do. I didn't do the no texting, however, that sounds like something equally or even more important. Because as we grow into this texting communication age, we really forget what it is to actually maintain a conversation with people. It's an interesting topic, the correlation between the growth in our connectedness and the factors that add to our loneliness. Good luck my friend.
ReplyDeleteKevin Ferguson
Thanks Kevin!
ReplyDeleteSo far, so good. In fact, I feel better about myself and the world, now that I've subtracted texting and Facebook from my own. I feel freer. When I finally return to texting and Facebook, I will return to both with a utilitarian outlook, and simply use them for convenience in making plans and such, or talking to people at a long distance. Aside from that, I will refrain from sitting on it for hours, unless I have an incredibly good reason to do so.
As for texting... I'm considering never returning to it again, but we'll see.
Facebook is such an interesting and addictive microcosm. There is this need for up-to-datedness that, in a medium that is constantly updating, can glue people to their screens for hours and hours a day. Not only facebook, and texting, but the increasing amount of devoted screen-time that is becoming obvious in the current will absolutely have some big impacts in the long run. Just being aware of that fact is something that brings change. After realizing my attachment to my iPhone, I have been constantly aware of myself when using it, avoiding its use as an object of consumption. It's all very fascinating and definitely requires further thought/discussion. Hold on, I think I have a notification-
ReplyDeleteKevin