Do you ever…

Feel like you need a break from technology?

Feel like telling some one else they need a break from technology?

I do. Especially lately.

I haven’t watched television for several weeks (with the exception of catching the last 2 episodes of True Blood on the computer [which were fantastic, by the way]), but I mean, most people watch tv, what, 5-8 hours per day? So many people I know even watch tv when they’re going to bed. Even I used to do it.

But no more.

Instead, I’ve been reading. I read until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore and then I go to bed. I read instead of watching tv when I’m not doing anything else. Recently, I’ve been re-reading the Harry Potter books, but I’ve been reading them backwards. It started out as just re-reading the 7th book because the movie trailer was recently released… then I decided I would like to read the whole series again, but I’ve done that more times than I can count (literally). So I figured I’d switch it up this time. I’ve got to say, it’s really quite interesting because I pick up on things that I may have overlooked reading them normally. (I finished 7 and 6 and am currently half way through 5).

Anyway, taking a break from TV has been one of the best things I’ve done recently. I’m considering taking a break from the computer as well. I had a moment earlier today when I wanted to delete my facebook account and just be done with it, but I didn’t. I don’t REALLY want to delete my facebook, I’m just really tired of everyone talking about facebook all the time. Facebook facebook facebook. Marsha Marsha Marsha. Same concept. It’s literally gotten to the point that people are telling me what’s happening on my facebook page before I even have a chance to sign in. Give me a freakin break. I don’t live in front of the computer screen monitoring my facebook profile 24/7. And as far as I’m concerned, I think some people are starting to spend an unhealthy amount of time on the computer/internet/facebook.

I mean, really, how many hours per day do you think the average facebook user is logged on and actively using facebook? I don’t really think I even want to know.

So yeah, I think I just really would like a break from technology for a while. And this is coming from a self-proclaimed technology whore. Seriously.

Finally someone’s talking some sense

READ THIS ARTICLE

I was reading some articles on Newsweek earlier today, and stumbled upon the article above.

It talks about how technology is a source of devolution, something I’ve been preaching on this blog since day one.

We’re so consumed with cell phones, computers, and the internet, that we’re actually LESS productive, LESS educated, and LESS informed. We’re getting dumber and dumber and it’s really sickening.

I was having a conversation yesterday about this very topic, so this article was very timely.

I wish I had time to go into detail on this further, but I don’t right now.

The article is very good, though, so check it out and comment with your thoughts!

Help Support These Girls!

Girls Incorporated of Holyoke NEEDS your help.

Last year I made a fund raising film for them. They are fantastic girls and this is a fantastic organization.

They need YOUR help. They have an opportunity to receive $25,000, which they desperately need. All they need to do is be voted to be one of the Chase Community Giving award winners. In order for this to happen, they need votes.

If you have a Facebook account, all you need to do is become a fan of this App (below) and then VOTE for Girls Inc. of Holyoke.

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/658209?src=wallpost&ref=mf

It requires nothing more than a few moments of your time.

The girls and the organization NEED this money.

THANK YOU!

 

Amazing

Okay, so I took a quiz on Facebook today (which is not something I normally do)… but my cell phone has recently died due to falling in a puddle (which is a WICKED bummer by the way)… and I felt like I could use the distraction.

The quiz was called, what type of crazy bitch are you. After I answered the questions, this is what it said:

You are one fierce bitch. You are very independent and will take no bullshit from anyone, but your personality is actually sort of quiet and shy. You are a natural beauty and you are very comfortable with your feminity. You don’t feel the need to overdo it or go out of your way to fuss over your looks. You don’t want to distract people from what you stand for and the talents you possess. You are very idealistic and will go to any extremes to stand up for what you believe in even if it creates controversy and people don’t understand. Relationships can be hard for you sometimes because men feel threatened by you but time again they come running to you and realize that you are actually very sweet and motherly….until they cross you

Which is pretty much EXACTLY me. Congratulations, Facebook quiz… you’ve pegged me.

Social Networks Inducing Change

Refer to the Article:  “Myspace, Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites: Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow?”

I joined the Myspace community when I was fourteen. I had never before been a part of a “Social Network” on the Internet; I didn’t even know what one was. All I knew was Myspace was THE thing to have, and I wanted it too. As a young teenager, Myspace changed my life. I had the ability to post pictures of my friends and myself on my very own webpage. I could share information about myself, post blogs, and even display which friends I cared about most by placing them in order on my “Top 8”.
I thought Myspace was the coolest thing ever. When I was sixteen, I had my senior pictures taken by Steinmetz Photography. It was then that I discovered that companies, Steinmetz included, had their own pages on Myspace as well. When I got to college, I joined the Facebook community since it was primarily geared toward college students. Joining Facebook gave me the opportunity to add my fellow college classmates as friends. By doing this, I was able to learn more about people that I had just met.
The article “Myspace, Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites: Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow?” addresses one of the main issues I noticed being a member of both the Myspace and Facebook communities, fleeting interest. When I first joined Facebook, I didn’t particularly care for it, I felt a stronger loyalty to Myspace, where I already had a page set up and my friend count reached well beyond 200 people. Facebook was new territory for me and I wasn’t very fond of it. As time passed however, I began using Facebook much more often than I was using Myspace. Myspace became boring to me.
With Facebook I was able to subscribe to political groups to keep up with the election campaigns. I felt Facebook was much more sophisticated than Myspace. Since Facebook is primarily geared toward college students of voting age, I believe it opened up a new door for politicians to get their messages across and gain support of the younger generations just coming of voting age. Not only political parties use social networks to gain support and business, there are many other business, as I previously mentioned, that use such internet sites as a way to advertise their services and merchandise and gain support.
These social networks haven’t only changed the way we conduct business, they have also changed the way we connect to friends and family. I used to spend hours on AOL Instant Messenger talking to my friends that way, but once I got Myspace, I was able to talk to them privately through messages, or publicly through comments. I was also able to see pictures from a friend’s vacation before I even saw the friend.
Because I am a full time college student and I work 40 hours a week, I find it difficult to see my family as often as I would like. Thanks to Facebook, I can keep up with my cousin’s lives, see if they are in a new relationship, who their friends are, what they’ve been up to, and even talk to them privately through messages or publicly on their “Wall”. Even though I rarely get to seem them, I am still in constant contact with them.
But nothing is fool proof. The article makes it clear that these social networking sites can disappear into oblivion as quickly as they blew up in the spot light,  “There is a fad or a fashion component to all these networks. Some will come and go”. What happens then, to the businesses that invested so much time into making their pages on these sites? Is it wasted effort? And what about the plethora of friends gathered on one social network, what will happen to your relationships with them when the site suddenly slips through the cracks?
There are no guarantees to any social network. Relationships, personal, business, or otherwise, can be lost just as quickly as they can be gained. A social network with an immense success rate can suddenly become lost in the cyber world, and with that loss comes the loss of the time and effort people and businesses put into it. It is a social gamble, a financial risk, but by not taking chances, we are simply closing the door on new opportunities for success.