Tag: Facebook

If Facebook Were a Woman

4/2013

So, you’re the one
Who causes all the trouble. Dressed
In blue makes you look innocent,
but you still manage to steal
my eyes for hours. “Come on,
what’s what harm?” you ask me,
showing off some of your recent pictures.
Another cute bunny or advice
on dieting. But if I see one more kitten
I think I might throw up. You know,

You are a great photographer, especially
when the photos aren’t yours. But that’s okay
because you change your style so often
that your selfies would become outdated
really fast. You’re a great seducer. Those
green kisses on familiar faces force me to think
that my friends may want to talk to me,
but you lure them to yourself
with your latest gossip.
You have a way with words.

You sit back and chuckle
pretending not to notice how many relationships
you’ve ended, how many fights you started,
and how many times people share
your poisonous words of “wisdom” and “inspiration”.
You seem to thrive on clutching people’s throats
and holding on for dear life, while still
convincing others to do the same. Temptation
never felt so subtle, but honey I know
you’ve got me good.

My Thoughts on Facebook Fasting

Periodically I’ll see some of my Facebook friends announce that they are going on a Facebook fast: “Leaving Facebook for x days; text if you need to reach me.” While it sounds like a good idea, I have never officially done my own Facebook fast other than when I was traveling or at summer camp. I think a break from the internet can definitely be a good thing, both for the mind and the body, but I have some mixed thoughts about it as well.

Hearing about someone going on a Facebook fast sounds pretty similar to someone announcing they’re going on a diet. It’s short term and may have some benefits, but it takes discipline, it’s easy to give up on, and it probably won’t affect you much in the long term. I’m not a big fan of diets, but I am a fan of healthy living.

Personally I don’t do internet fasts because I want to be reachable if people need to contact me, especially if they want to schedule something last minute that I wouldn’t see if I were on a fast. A one-time internet fast isn’t likely to accomplish much (for me), but I do like the idea of trying to moderate how much time I spend on the internet on a regular basis. Maybe that means taking a day each week/month and not checking Facebook. More practically for me it means not checking my email constantly throughout the day.

Personal internet moderation is something I still need to work on – I still fall into the trap of sitting in front of my computer screen when I’m bored, or even when I should be doing other things. For some people, Facebook fasts are great. For me personally, I don’t want to go on a diet; I want to improve my lifestyle.