I was reading this post of my friend, Yvonne, today and at the end she mentions that she has noticed that people aren't blogging as much as they used to.
I agree! And I'm one of those people. :(
When I started my first blog in November of 2005 (!) and for a few years after, I would fall asleep at night composing my next post. During the day I would create mental lists of things I thought were interesting. I looked for humor in every day situations so my posts wouldn't be boring. After posting something new, I would get online a gazillion times throughout the day waiting to see if anyone had made a comment. (I'm a true blogger. I live for comments. I wish I got more... hint hint.)
And then I found Facebook.
Facebook is a world that's instant. I can post a short, one line comment about my day or something funny my child has done and that's all that I need to write about. Now I find myself thinking, 'What clever thing can I put on my status?' There's no need to worry about grammar. There's no need to worry about sentence structure or if I can carry a cohesive thought for longer than 3 lines. (I still frequently get online to see if someone has commented on that status!)
I have forgotten how to be creative and I am forgetting how to tell a story.
I call it Blogging ADD.
Is there a medication for it? I'm not sure. I could deactivate my FB account, which is something I have seriously thought about. Not only does FB take away from my blog/journal, but it also takes time away from my family and home. Earlier this summer I only got online once a day and it was GREAT!! I was so busy I didn't even miss it! Slowly, I have found myself getting online with more frequency. Who is doing what? Should I change my status? What new pictures have one of my friends posted?
It's sucking the creativity right out of my brain.
I have Brain Dis-Function.
Am I a FB addict? Can I deactivate it? Probably. If you're my Facebook friend, and you don't see my status update for a while, come check my blog. I'm trying to turn my brain back on.
**************
UPDATE: After publishing this post, I went directly to FB and deactivated my account! I wonder how long I can last?
4 comments:
I had an email in my box that said you put something on my page, but when I went there it was gone! I can't believe you deleted your account. Wow.
I've been through what you're going through. I almost deleted my account twice. But one day, our power went out. No nothing for 6 hours. And from that day on, I haven't felt the need to check it 90 times a day. It feels good.
I haven't been on since I left for vacation, and after 4 days I felt disconnected. I finally sat down tonight and went on. I spent 15 minutes and went to do something else. That's about all I need now.
I hope you find a balance, or closure, or whatever makes you happy. I, for one, will miss you. I find I actually spend less time on facebook than I do reading everyone's blogs, and I find it easier to comment on fb. It forces me to be brief (as opposed to what I've done here).
Hope to "read" you soon!
I know exactly what you are talking about. I have got to figure out how to balance the whole thing.
I just love blogging and really don't want to give it up
I wonder if I could just check FB once a day--maybe I'll try that today.
That's dedication to deactivate your FB account! We just had a RS fireside on Sunday on the 10 virgins and one of the unprepared virgins vices was blogging, FB, and twitter (which luckily I haven't started!). Gulp!
It is a hard balance. I tell myself to only go online once a day when I wake up. But then in the afternoon, when I'm tired and grumpy a I like to check my blog and FB, for a little escape. And then when the baby is grumpy before bed I can either hold her and stare at the wall or check again... I know excuses excuses. Just like all good things they can be used for good or evil. Like my hubby found some people from his mission to connect with and see how they are doing. I don't think that's a bad thing. But spending hours taking quizes, etc. can be a major time waster. Good luck finding your brain.
Was there a 3-step program or what? I'm an addict too and just added a bunch of new friends from H.S. since the class below us just had a reunion. But, we just said goodbye to Dish... no more TV! The economy induced downsizing continues.*sigh* Making room for blogging and FB-ing and reading and...
Post a Comment