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Monday, November 3, 2014

Disconnecting from social media

I could not do it. I had to coordinate a meeting with my friends on Friday and Saturday. The only way I can reach them was through text messages because I did not have their phone numbers written down or memorized nor do they live close to me.  But, not accessing social media networks like Facebook was easy for me to do, I think? Throughout the weekend I was entertained with my family and friends so I really had no need to access social media anymore (this supports Watkin’s view on how we use social media sites to coordinate meetings, events, reach close friends, etc.). However, I found myself unconsciously launching the Facebook application twice without any intention to coordinate any sort of event or contact anyone-even though I did not want to access Facebook!; I guess I just became accustomed to launching the Facebook application whenever I was alone. When I caught myself doing this, I immediately closed the application without even looking at the newsfeed. One thing I learned from this experiment is that I depend on my mobile phone too much. I should really have alternative ways to communicate with those I wish to contact; this can be achieved through contacting them via landline phone (which would require me to have their phone numbers written down somewhere). I would also really like to make a conscious effort to not launch Facebook every time I get the opportunity to. There are a million other things I can do!

2 comments:

  1. Daniel, it is clear that you found this activity as interesting as I did. The most standout, and true part of your post is that accessing Facebook or any social media on our phones has almost become second nature and automatic. It is as commonplace as any other action we carry out on a daily basis. In a sense, like you mentioned, Facebook serves as our friend when we are lonely, and it is just normal for us to want to be aware of what's going on with our friends around us. It's fascinating to see that we both noticed the difficulty of connecting with friends without text messaging, which was clearly the hardest part for me. We are so reliant on automation and technology to store all of our friends numbers, which limits the amount of memory and attention we have to exert towards important information. Overall, I am glad we both found this exercise and experiment quite shocking and eye-opening as well as unique.

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  2. I also experienced that pull to Facebook. It wasn't like I intentionally wanted to go on but every time I nothing to do for a second there was just this impulse to check Facebook. It's kind of unsettling in a way, and you really don't notice it until you know you can't use it. I don't see the use of cell phones as a issue as a whole but an over use can be. They are too convenient not to use and landlines are inconvenient in a lot of ways. The way I see it is use it but don't let it distract you from the people right in front of you.

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