Living in this day and time, we can connect with old friends in a single click of a mouse. We can communicate instantly, and it's so neat that I can be in Texas and talk to a friend living in Japan anytime I want, without having to worry about an expensive phone call!
Of course there are a few bad things about all this: no one calls anyone anymore (and if they do, they aren't calling me!). And if you use your phone, it's for texting or Facebook or some other means of communicating, besides the actual phone call itself that I so dearly miss! With Skype or IChat, this has been countered in that you can see and hear the person you are talking to. What a great combination. What a great time we live in!
Another downside is.....how does one stop using computers and take a walk or do something constructive, when it is so much fun, sometimes profitable and even educational, to sit in front of the computer instead? I recently used my undiagnosed but almost certain obsessive/compulsive disorder to my advantage, and made a chart that managed my time for me on the computer everyday! The site I was melting my brain at the most was Facebook. This is my chart just for managing my daily time on everyone's most favorite time-waster (I actually don't consider it a waste of time, if managed correctly--Facebook is quite the innovation and a huge necessity and just great in every way!):
FACEBOOK | Frequency | Frequency | |
Add Friends | once a week, Mondays | Add Photos | once a week, Fridays |
Happy Birthday | Every day | What are my friends up to? | 3 x's a week, Sat, T, R |
Private Messages | once a week & when needed, Wednesdays | Post Favorite YouTube video (not of you) | once a week, Saturdays |
Public Messages | 3 x's a week & when needed, R, Sat & T | Post something from other sharing site | once a week, Sundays |
Update Status | 3 x's a week, Sun, W, F | Post new YouTube music video (of you) | once a week, Sundays |
Add Blog Notes | once a week, Thursdays | Website Update Notice | once a week, Mondays |
Check General News Feed | 3 x's a week, M, W, F | Facebook Music Page Update Notice | once a week, Tuesdays |
What's great is that it will force me to get off the social network and do something constructive. I watched Family Guy last night (Sunday 2/13) and the point of the show was DO EVERYTHING IN MODERATION! Simply giving up something will drive you crazy (and I can't give up Facebook!), and overdoing it will too, but if you do things in moderation, you will find that you can have your cake and eat it too! Especially on a day like Valentine's Day, when you need to get off the computer and spend some time with your significant other.
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