Good evening!
I'm sitting here watching the sun set as I write to you; it's another beautiful pink-purple mix.
While I say goodbye to another day, I feel a sense of overwhelming change come upon me. I'm not sure what the change will bring, how it will alter my life, or even what it is, but my gut is telling me that a new path is starting to unfold before me and that I'm ready to take it. There's something in the breeze that reaffirms this truth. Nature often hands us clues about our lives; if only we would listen once in a while.
To start this new chapter off, I've decided to give good ole Facebook the boot. Like most twenty-somethings, I joined Facebook in order to make friends before the dreaded orientation week at my university. Back then, the site helped you establish contacts with those who would soon be in the same dorm, clubs, or even classes as you. You had to have an official email address hosted by your university to even register. Today, however, the scene has changed. Now relatives, young and old, near and far, are on the site posting new updates about their lives, while companies constantly try to catch my attention with their ads, paid posts, and the like.
Last week I got so sick of logging in for no good reason that I decided to run a personal experiment. I made a vow to myself that as of July 1st, I would no longer log into my account. I won't close my account permanently, I just won't allow myself to log in through my laptop, smartphone, or any other device I find in my hands. My goal is to stay disconnected from the virtual world until September 1st.
I'm looking forward to see how my mentality changes, how much I accomplish with those spare five or ten minutes I currently find myself wasting throughout the day, as well as how many emails I get notifying me of what's going on without me or asking me why I haven't been on in a while.
Ironically enough, a large number of news outlets, including sites such as Today.com and TechCrunch, ran stories on the negative reactions toward Facebook's manipulation of certain users' news feeds today. There have also been numerous videos highlighting the creepy factor of how the site works. One video you most likely watched that went viral under the name "Look Up" focused on social media in general and the influence of our smartphones on our lives. However, let's be clear: I'm not leaving and hoping to run into a future boyfriend because I'm not looking at my Facebook feed on my phone. I'm not taking a hiatus because I don't get as many likes or posts or comments as others. I'm taking a break because I want to see how productive I can be without the distractions, how much I can accomplish just being me in this physical world. I'm closing the door, but not locking it up (yet), in order to get closer to myself.
So follow along as I fight the urge to sign in and see what I discover along the way. Who knows, maybe there really is no way to live without being virtually connected 24/7 these days. Only the next two months will tell!
Until next time,
La petite pamplemousse
I'm sitting here watching the sun set as I write to you; it's another beautiful pink-purple mix.
While I say goodbye to another day, I feel a sense of overwhelming change come upon me. I'm not sure what the change will bring, how it will alter my life, or even what it is, but my gut is telling me that a new path is starting to unfold before me and that I'm ready to take it. There's something in the breeze that reaffirms this truth. Nature often hands us clues about our lives; if only we would listen once in a while.
To start this new chapter off, I've decided to give good ole Facebook the boot. Like most twenty-somethings, I joined Facebook in order to make friends before the dreaded orientation week at my university. Back then, the site helped you establish contacts with those who would soon be in the same dorm, clubs, or even classes as you. You had to have an official email address hosted by your university to even register. Today, however, the scene has changed. Now relatives, young and old, near and far, are on the site posting new updates about their lives, while companies constantly try to catch my attention with their ads, paid posts, and the like.
Last week I got so sick of logging in for no good reason that I decided to run a personal experiment. I made a vow to myself that as of July 1st, I would no longer log into my account. I won't close my account permanently, I just won't allow myself to log in through my laptop, smartphone, or any other device I find in my hands. My goal is to stay disconnected from the virtual world until September 1st.
I'm looking forward to see how my mentality changes, how much I accomplish with those spare five or ten minutes I currently find myself wasting throughout the day, as well as how many emails I get notifying me of what's going on without me or asking me why I haven't been on in a while.
Ironically enough, a large number of news outlets, including sites such as Today.com and TechCrunch, ran stories on the negative reactions toward Facebook's manipulation of certain users' news feeds today. There have also been numerous videos highlighting the creepy factor of how the site works. One video you most likely watched that went viral under the name "Look Up" focused on social media in general and the influence of our smartphones on our lives. However, let's be clear: I'm not leaving and hoping to run into a future boyfriend because I'm not looking at my Facebook feed on my phone. I'm not taking a hiatus because I don't get as many likes or posts or comments as others. I'm taking a break because I want to see how productive I can be without the distractions, how much I can accomplish just being me in this physical world. I'm closing the door, but not locking it up (yet), in order to get closer to myself.
So follow along as I fight the urge to sign in and see what I discover along the way. Who knows, maybe there really is no way to live without being virtually connected 24/7 these days. Only the next two months will tell!
Until next time,
La petite pamplemousse
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