Saturday, July 26, 2014

Freedom from Facebook

This new experiment '99 days of freedom' has featured globally in the leading magazines. Do we need to abstain from facebook, to make us happier ?

 
 
Everyone complains of all kinds of annoying people on facebook, and the ridiculous stuff they post...
Each one at some point, by default or by design (the controversial mood experiment), has suffered emotional swings due to the content posted by others...
And yet not many can resist the urge to log in and follow what's happening around in others lives!
Is there an inherent contradiction between what you expect from others and what you do yourself?

Enough has been said and heard on the the do's and don't of social networking. But all of it hasn't succeeded in building a concurrence between the notion of self and that of the others. And all of us have our own set of pet peeves.
A person who wondered if others do anything worthwhile, gets time off work, and starts posting the candy crush highs...
A person who believes oneself to be rational, gets tagged in a post threatening that hell will call, and starts propagating the chain messages...
A person who claims to be social, upon meeting people, remains preoccupied with posting status update, texting or clicking selfies...
A person who pretends to be ultra liberal, sees an opinion differing from one's own, and becomes foul-mouthed...
A person who loathes when others boast, gets a luxury, and so gets the humble bragging rights...
A person who envies when others make exotic trips, visits a place, and starts flooding in hourly check-ins and check-outs...
A person who ridiculed the virtual dialogues between couples, gets married, and starts publicizing their own private talks...
A person who hated litter, becomes a proud parent, and starts posting the poopee moments...
And sure many more...

While it may not be a practical or a great idea to distance oneself from the charms and the benefits of sharing, but definitely worth an effort to consciously decide what and when and how much and with whom to share; and similarly what to read and care.

And conversely, what not to bother about. So, once you distance yourself from all the negativity around and those who spread it; and gain freedom from all the junk and those who create it; you won't any longer need freedom from facebook itself!