SOME THINGS MAY NEVER BE THE SAME...

So I must have been back on facebook for a couple weeks now and I've found myself not really frequenting it the way I used to.  I still check it most days but I haven't really used it as a time filler and I seem to be doing other things before I do that.  I also, usually, post from my phone and from other apps without actually logging in.  My little siesta from the facebook world has changed the way I operate in realm of social networking sites and I think it's great.  My advice, take a break from facebook...I think it'll only do you good!

GUESS WHO'S BACK!

So I'm about to download the facebook app and reactivate my account, something I've kind've been putting off for some reason. And, I've been trying to work out how to make my entrance back into the facebook world. What will my first post be and say? I think I've worked it out...I'm just gonna reactivate, pretend like nothing happened and see if anybody even noticed I was gone...

BEEN ON A BENDER!

Well if I hadn't fallen off the facebook wagon yet, I certainly have now.  I found myself on a social networking bender posting all kinds of randomness to whatever I could get my hands on!  I even signed up to tumblr and started posting to that!  I was like an old homeless guy at an all you can eat buffet...and I AM FULL!!!

If I'm to take anything away from this experience it's that facebook isn't necessarily all bad.  Many times it would've been the fastest and most effective way of contacting people.  In fact, there were times I didn't get a message through that would've easily been received had I used facebook.  My family back home will be happy to see me online I'm sure (well my mum at least).  But, I think it'll be my own self gratification that wins out the most.  Knowing that someone (other than the 18 Russians viewing my blog) will be reading my posts, sharing in my thoughts, and, in a way, participating in my life, will fill a small emptiness that has popped up here and there when I see or hear something amusing and a look around to find nobody to share it with.  If I don't have any real friends, then hey...at least I'll always have virtual ones! ; )

FALLING OFF THE FACEBOOK WAGON...

I was looking at Ali's phone yesterday and saw a facebook message from my mum asking if she'd arrived safely. I took the liberty of responding but realised afterwards that I just used facebook again! Does it count if it's not your account? And, I was just letting my mum know something important.  Have I fallen off the facebook wagon? And if so, do I bother getting back on? How long is this social experiment going to last? Did I fail? Maybe it's over...or maybe my resolve is solidifying and it's really only just beginning!

SLUMMING IT IN THE INSTAGRAM GHETTO!

I just uploaded some pics to instagram and it was a hundred per cent because I have no facebook! I even tried clicking the facebook share button...and yep, still not working! I then proceeded to scroll down, "liking" all of my friends photos. Kind'f sad. I do feel like I've gotten my fix though, to a degree.  I feel like a have pay tv (satisfying) but the sports channel isn't working right and there could just be a game on (unsatisfying)...

PAGEVIEWS BY COUNTRY..?

So 25 views in Australia, I get that.  It's probably just my family seeing as they don't get anything from me on facebook anymore.  And the UAE...well that's obviously just me!  But who are the 18 people veiwing my blog in Russia?  Now that is the million dollar question...

DAY...AHH, WHO EVEN KNOWS!!!

So it must be like, day nine or something and I haven't been back on facebook yet.  I probably had good cause to though.  Aside from all the stuff I've been up to, I had a real need to be in touch with my family back home and not being able to message them on facebook made the job fairly difficult.  However, email and a 150dhs worth of international credit seems to have done the trick!  I find myself in short moments of boredom reaching for my phone to pass the time and not really having anything to do on it.  I've downloaded a bunch of free games and find myself playing those instead of trawling through status updates and friends pictures.  Is that really a better use of my time?  Or, am I in the process of breaking a habit I've formed over the years?  I'll tell you this though...I feel like I am out of the loop in two respects. One; not knowing what my friends are up to, and two; not being able to share what I'm up to with anybody.

It's a relatively lonely existence for someone living by themselves without facebook!

DAY FOUR: STILL GOING STRONG...ALL THOUGH!

This weekend is going to be a big one in terms of the sort of posts I might share on facebook.  Lots of things going on at school and at home, wtih friends and family from all around the world and so the question is; what will I do when those moments occur?  I realise now that I'm so conditioned to think "hey that'd make a good/funny post on facebook" that I'm not sure what I'll do.  And, is it a good or a bad thing to think like that anyway?  In reality I don't think it's bad to want to share funny and exciting moments in our lives with others.  The danger may be in not being able to and letting it control our actions until we can.  In that sense, I don't think I'm there yet however, I did  go and download the google+ app to my phone so I had easy access to the social network away from my laptop.  Haven't used it yet but it is there.  I guess we'll see if I start posting over the weekend!

AM I REALLY BETTER OFF WITHOUT FACEBOOK?

I found myself posting a bunch of pictures on instagram and trawling through old posts on google+ last night. As far as time wasting goes it's probably worse than facebook.  The posts on google+ are so old that I'm really just looking at pictures.  At least I'm getting up to date news from friends, family and the outside world on fb.  I even left a comment on a picture from April last year for...well no one actually, seeing as I don't have any friends on google+ that really use it!  What's really sad is when I posted pictures on instagram I couldn't do it without clicking the "share" button for facebook and twitter!  I have one twitter follower and that was more out sympathy than anything else, and I don't even know what happens when I share with facebook anymore.  Do they go there and just sit and wait for me to reactivate?  Are they floating around somewhere in the ether?  These are the conundrums that crosshatch the synapses of my mind now'a days...kind'f a sad realisation!

DAY TWO...

With everything from fire alarms to scuba diving to witnessing a number of sights that you would just never expect to see at a basketball game...there have been a myriad of things to post on facebook today. I'm doing alright still. I'm not about to jump online and reactivate my account but I do wonder if I am, or will, use this blog as a substitute to get my facebook fix...

UPDATE...

Just a quick update...  Closed the facebook tab that is usaully pinned to my browser window and deleted the facebook and message apps from my phone.  Still less than twelve hours in and really starting to up the ante.  No withdrawal symptoms so far!

STILL ONLY DAY ONE...

So I'm at a friend's basketball game and I've managed to advance a whole tier on CSR Racing, read some breaking news updates from the guardian, chat for a bit on watsapp, now I'm blogging and it's still only the first quarter! I probably would've checked my facebook by now but I'm ok with that. The downside is, I am sitting by myself and if something cool happens who am I gonna tell? Maybe you'll find me blogging again later! :P

GOING UNDER THE RADAR...

I just deactivated my facebook account.  First time ever.  I didn't even know how to do it so I had to ask the kids in my class!  Most of them didn't know either.  It'd probably be there worst nightmare to be without facebook.  It got me thinking about how much I use it to keep in contact with the outside world.  I started wondering how I would go so I thought I'd blog about my experience in going off facebook cold turkey.  Will I lose friends?  Will I have more time?  Will I reactivate in the next thirty minutes?  I like to think I have a little more will power than that!  I've never done a blog before either so I'll've killed two birds with one stone!  Oh well, here goes nothin'....