Quitting is never easy. No, I'm not talking about drugs, smoking or even drinking.
I'm talking about Facebook.
Why? Well, I've realised that rather than expanding my social life and helping me to get in touch with people, Facebook limits me. It's hard to build strong connections and friendships with others if you're never apart.
Quitting Facebook will allow me talk to the people that matter in my life, rather than everybody I've ever known or met. Quality than quantity, as the old saying goes. Because contrary to 21st century thinking, communication is not about 'messages' and 'comments' and 'statuses'. It's about calling someone late at night because you want to hear their voice. It's about sitting face to face with someone and reading their body language, noticing the way they smile, and the intonation of their voice when they tell a joke. It's about looking into someone's eyes and thinking 'I'm so glad you're in my life'. It's about their scent, and the way they hold themselves, and the silly faces they pull when they're joking with friends.
A 'friend' is not someone you met once at a party, or knew 10 years ago, or bump into in the corridors sometimes. Yet, online, we're 'friends' with all of these people.
A real friend is someone you meet up with to talk when you've had a long day and you need to chat. Someone you want to really let into your life, someone you appreciate and like spending time with.
But like any drug, Facebook is addictive, and it soothes an itch that we all have, as people, to get the next hit of information. And let's be clear, Facebook is a drug. It changes us and the way we interact with others. I don't think I've been invited to a party in the last two years that wasn't organised on Facebook, and if that doesn't tell you something about what Facebook has done to the world, I don't know what does.
So that's why I'm getting off of Facebook for a while. Because, aside from taking up time I could be spending reading, talking to people, and doing the things I enjoy in life, real human connections just can't be made through a computer.
I'm talking about Facebook.
Why? Well, I've realised that rather than expanding my social life and helping me to get in touch with people, Facebook limits me. It's hard to build strong connections and friendships with others if you're never apart.
Quitting Facebook will allow me talk to the people that matter in my life, rather than everybody I've ever known or met. Quality than quantity, as the old saying goes. Because contrary to 21st century thinking, communication is not about 'messages' and 'comments' and 'statuses'. It's about calling someone late at night because you want to hear their voice. It's about sitting face to face with someone and reading their body language, noticing the way they smile, and the intonation of their voice when they tell a joke. It's about looking into someone's eyes and thinking 'I'm so glad you're in my life'. It's about their scent, and the way they hold themselves, and the silly faces they pull when they're joking with friends.
A 'friend' is not someone you met once at a party, or knew 10 years ago, or bump into in the corridors sometimes. Yet, online, we're 'friends' with all of these people.
A real friend is someone you meet up with to talk when you've had a long day and you need to chat. Someone you want to really let into your life, someone you appreciate and like spending time with.
But like any drug, Facebook is addictive, and it soothes an itch that we all have, as people, to get the next hit of information. And let's be clear, Facebook is a drug. It changes us and the way we interact with others. I don't think I've been invited to a party in the last two years that wasn't organised on Facebook, and if that doesn't tell you something about what Facebook has done to the world, I don't know what does.
So that's why I'm getting off of Facebook for a while. Because, aside from taking up time I could be spending reading, talking to people, and doing the things I enjoy in life, real human connections just can't be made through a computer.
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