SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE

I am in a love/hate relationship with technology, my family can vouch for this as they have suffered through numerous rants. I blame some of this on what I witness while working with the public – families sitting at a table and nobody speaking, babies watching cartoons while shopping, kids with headphones in while out with grandma, and full grown adults talking on their phone while at the register – I’ll confess, the 24/7 phone addiction is a pet peeve of mine.

That being said, I’m not all anti-techie, after all, it allows me to write and share my thoughts in a way that would not have been possible some thirty years ago. Technology brings military families closer together without having to wait weeks for the post to run or months before you could afford that long distance phone call. Technology, has done far more good than bad, and I recognize that. However, the convenience of it is creating problems.

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I have noticed, with much annoyance, that I am using my phone as a boredom relief. I find myself awake at 1a.m. watching ridiculous videos on Facebook, not because of their amazing content, but simply because it is there at 1a.m. I reach for my phone without even realizing I’m doing it, just opening it up to check and see if I’ve got a message or pop on social media as if a meme were Breaking News.

I don’t know when this habit started. I suppose it’s like any bad habit, it just happens over time, slipping into your life like a fat raccoon slipping down a drain pipe (yes, it’s a real thing, watched the video last night).

Though there is no great political angst going on to prompt my hiatus (I gave up Facebook after Trump took office), there is a self-awareness that makes me think that taking a step back is needed.

This past week I found myself watching ridiculous videos at 3a.m. and then dragging my sleep deprived self off to work. More than once I scrolled through the boring stream of Facebook while watching television with my family, or browsing social media as a co-worker was speaking to me in the break-room. I had become my own pet peeve.

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The first step in recovery is to recognize there is a problem.

I, Laura Lin, am addicted to the ease of phone apps and the mindless escape they provide.

The next step is to take action, make a change.

So, today I hide all my social media apps – Pintrest, Tumblr, and of course Facebook – those apps that make it so easy to leach away blocks of time without even realizing you’re doing so – for A MONTH.

(I’m thinking this is enough time to detox, and as I do enjoy being connected to my family and friends, I don’t wish to do it on a permanent basis)

I will keep a daily journal of how it is going and blog it here.  Yes, you will see the post pop up on my Facebook page, but that’s because I have an automatic setting to do so, not because I physically get on the site and post, so I’m not falling off the grid there.

This all being said, I want to CHALLENGE you to do the same.

Whether it is a game that you play all the time on your phone, YouTube, Facebook, or whatever other apps that may be stealing your time – give it up for a month, or more if you want. Hide it away in that obscure place on your phone or delete it all together, whatever it takes to get it out of your life.

Maybe now you’ll have more time to read, or clean out that closet that you’ve been avoiding, or simply spend more time with friends and family really being there in the moment instead of only half way.

Let me know what you give up and your progress in the comments section

WE CAN DO THIS!!!