Monthly Archives: October 2020

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Fighting social media addiction: What did I do before?

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So what did we do before social media? Before those apps that keep us connected to friends and family? I’m old enough to remember a time before all this. When, if you were out running around, maybe doing a little shopping in an actual store, and you suddenly remembered something you wanted to ask your mom or best buddy, you had to pull over and find a payphone to call them. I can remember there was a phone booth at the corner store two blocks from my house, and if you wanted some privacy to talk that’s where you went. You didn’t have a cell phone, so you couldn’t just go anywhere and make your call.

Social media, if we can even use that term, was a completely different animal too. You want to share music with your friends? You went to their house or invited them to yours. Need to know what was going on in the world? You read the newspaper or watched the news on TV at a certain designated hour. Wow, who could imagine that inconvenience now? Having to WAIT for information.

As I’m going through my social media withdrawal, I’m thinking of these nostalgic things. And truly missing them. But do I miss them enough to want to go back to that technology deficient time? Probably not. After all, I’m typing this blog on my android phone. This morning’s news and weather was delivered to me via an app as well. That recipe for the breakfast casserole I just fixed? I googled it.

Technology definitely has its benefits, but I’m learning the side effects can hinder us in our relationship with others, though it’s intended to make us more connected.  And so I have to ask myself, is it the technology I’m addicted to, or is it the instant  interaction with others? Am I starving for conversation or am I just addicted to the action of checking my phone every few minutes? Perhaps we’ll delve into that another day. I think i just got a text…

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Fighting social media addiction day 1

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Here I am on day one of my latest experiment.  To keep off social media until after the election. That’s only several weeks but I’m already feeling my addiction taunting me.

It’s only been a few hours since facebook, facebook messenger, instagram, and twitter were all removed from my phone and other devices. Already I find myself checking my phone for their notifications. It’s almost like a smoker going cold turkey. You still want it. And yet you can’t explain why. What good did it actually do you?

We tell ourselves that we need it. We can’t go without “checking in” and sharing every little aspect of our life. Oh look what I ate. Oh see what I found at the mall. Watch this cool cooking video on YouTube. You get my meaning, I’m sure.

I first got online in 1999 I think it was. The internet was very different then. Social media wasn’t even a term, much less an actual thing. Apps for phones weren’t much either, as the smartphone was yet to dominate. I think the first social website I used was myspace. Remember that, kids? Actually before that I used Yahoo groups to meet and communicate with others. I mention all this because I want to show I’m not new to social apps and sites. My addiction has taken hold for years, and so it’s harder to break.

When I quit smoking in the summer of 1999, I feel like I gave it up for something just as bad for me. I didn’t really lose my addiction, i just traded it in for a different one. Good job there, Paulie.