Wednesday, March 19, 2014

What if Wednesday: What if I logged off

Ash at More than Cheese and Beer has decided to start a new link-up called What if Wednesday, and I think it's a pretty cool idea.  Not unlike the 5 Minute Friday concept, you write a quick post on the given topic.  I like the whole what if concept, so I decided to participate.  Here is what I have to say about this week's topic...what if I logged off:

The truth is, I actually attempted to go on an internet detox a week or so ago.  I believed in myself.  I thought this would be something that I could do.  It was meant to last for an entire day.  No more than an hour into it, I found myself wondering what was going on, on Twitter.  And not much longer after that thought entered my brain, my self-control flew away, and I decided to tap that little blue bird icon on my iPhone.

You know what I missed out on in that hour?  Everything and nothing at the same time.  Someone said something funny.  Another someone retweeted something, and someone responded to one of my tweets.  Could I have lived without knowing these things?  Yes.  Was it interesting to have discovered them?  Again, yes.

I will not deny the fact that I spend some free time on social media and blogging networks, and sometimes I spend too much time on those sites.  The thing is, I know when it is time to unplug..most of the time.  You will never catch me out at dinner on my iPhone.  Ever.  You will never catch me on my iPhone when I am having a conversation with someone.  It's rude.

Okay, now let's have some fun.  Let's just say, hypothetically, I decided to log off of all social media sites and put the computer away for a few days.  Here is what I imagine might happen:

1.  I wouldn't see as many pictures of talking cats saying things like, "You haz my full attentionz."  Why do people think cats would us the letter z so much?  It's kind of weird.  It's also weird how many cat memes and videos are floating around the internet.  I don't even like cats, and the internet has informed me that I am a minority in my dislike of cats.

2.  Which brings me to another point...How would I know that everyone else likes cats so much without the internet showing me?  I had no idea that, as a society, we are truly obsessed with cats.

3.  I wouldn't know what healthy food someone cooked and bragged about on Instagram.

4.  I wouldn't be looking at food so much on Pinterest, so maybe I'd be less hungry.  Or, maybe I'd actually have to use my real cookbooks made of paper.

5.  I wouldn't have to read everyone's political opinions that pop up in my news feed.  That one I can do without.

6.  I would not know anybody's birthday.  Seriously.  Thank you, Facebook

I'd love to tie this all together with a beautifully written conclusion of my stance on this topic, but I'm afraid I have to go catch up on some tweets and check out some pictures of cakes on Pinterest. 
MoreThanCheeseandBeer

8 comments:

  1. Hahaha...thanks for linking up. I feel better about the fact that I don't check my phone during dinner unless someone else does it first. Thank you. Lol

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    1. Ha ha! This was a fun one. I could have said more...like the fact that I have a hard time paying attention to House of Cards because I'm usually playing Candy Crush while I am watching it, which causes me to miss some key details.

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  2. drives me bananas when people look at their phones when they're out, even when it's just a bunch of strange youths at chipotle 'gramming their burritos and not someone actually out with me.
    i feel like an enabler sometimes bc i have to have my phone handy around late-dinner-date time bc i have a 9pm pills alarm that i need to hear, and since mine is out it makes other folks ok with having theirs out. totally lame :\

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    1. Yeah it's definitely a pet peeve when I'm out to dinner and someone is staring at their phone the whole time.

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  3. Let's just all accept that mobile devices and social media are integral parts of life: like shoes. I don't feel guilty about wearing shoes ;)

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    1. You have a wonderful point, John! Every once in a while I become addicted to these mobile devices though, like when I'm laying in bed at 1:00 AM playing Candy Crush.

      ...What, don't we all do that?

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  4. You know, I've logged off Facebook so much since I started blogging and it's been liberating. I do read my Kindle for iPhone though so I still probably look like one of those stooges staring at her phone in line at the grocery store.

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    1. I also have been spending less time on Facebook since I started blogging, but I feel like I have made up for it in the amount of time I have been spending on Twitter. Oops.

      Oh, and I never even thought about putting the kindle app on my iPhone. Now I kind of want to.

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