Hi, everyone. My name is Kris, and I’m addicted to Facebook.
Last night, I deleted Facebook from my phone in an attempt to “just knock it off.” This was the 2nd attempt in that many months: my partner and I sat together in our living room, phones in hand, and said “Ready to delete?” after discussing why we needed to be more present, etc. We held the F icon until it shook and then he said “Wait, let me change my profile pic. And then after that, you’ll probably want to ‘like’ the photo…” and then we forgot about our pact completely. According to FB, that was November 17th. Last night, we did it for real. My phone icons shifted, and I felt empty inside (until I moved the Snapchat icon in its place).
“Less Scrolling, More Connecting”
This quote is a fraction of a larger quote that my friend wrote on her Facebook wall (of course), which I’ve written on an actual chalkboard (#oldskool #cheesy). Let’s be clear: I did not delete my account. I deleted the app off my phone. I still have access to Facebook on my laptops, and I’m not going to lie when I say I went to bed and opened Facebook on my iPad. I like to ask myself “Is it really that bad?” The answer: Yes. And no. I learn a lot from those addicting videos (GIGadgets is one my favorite tech pages). There’s a news feed at my fingertips. I become inspired. I save informational links that I’d like to read (one day). So am I connecting with Facebook to learn and be in the know? Yes. Am I addicted to thumb scrolling and picking up my phone? Yes. So there’s reason to my half-a55ed attempt at all this.
I’m thinking my next blog post will be: “Technology Addiction: Kris’ Facebook Deletion Attempt Fails.” I am hoping for something more positive, though. Wish me luck (but don’t post it to my wall).