Giving “IT” Up
By Susan Mercedes. Filed in Life |
This scares the shit out of me. Frightens me beyond belief.
Can I do without “it”? Can I survive without “it”? Can I live without “it”?
No more playing. No more fondling. No more fidgeting. No more countless hours spent pushing all the right buttons. I’d be left with a huge void in my life. I’d be without hours of entertainment.
But the answer is yes. I bet I can live without “it”.
The “it” refers to access to everything online. All personal online connections: Twitter, reading of blogs, Facebook, etc. It may even include NOT writing this blog.
It would be odd not to fondle my iPhone incessantly and play with my laptop at all hours. What will I do in the middle of the night when I wake up at 3 am?
Years ago when my husband and I separated, I stopped turning on the television when I was home. After months had passed of living in a quiet house in the evenings, it dawned on me…I had TONS of free time. This happened because I didn’t spend countless hours mindlessly channel surfing. I wasn’t distracted by this brainless activity.
Now my online activity has become my time waster.
I’d love to stop for a short period of time. But I’m frightened. This challenge seems harder than any other challenge, including my one week detox diet plan. At least when I suffer through the detox, I end up with a flat tummy and without cravings for sweets or carbs.
Back to the separation from personal online activity. Have you done it? Would you do it? For how long? Dare me to try?
Wednesday, September 23rd 2009 at 9:15 am
I did this a few months back. Though I have to say, it wasn’t necessarily by choice. Vacationing, without a laptop, tends to zap the interwebs out of your life. I had my Motorola Q9c running Skyfire every now and then, but that can only do so much. This was a two week vacation by the way, so it really could, only do so much. I was surprised at how well it went actually, but then again I didn’t really have a choice. Now that I’ve experienced it though, I find it easier to pull myself away and do something for my self.
Perhaps just going hardcore for one week, meaning no internet except for business for an entire week, then allow yourself back into the online world, but set limits. You could also try setting limits right away, but to be honest I find that much more difficult. If you can find out that it’s not so bad living without ‘it’ in the first place, it is a heckuva’ lot easier to pull yourself away when your limit is met.
Hope that mumbo jumbo was able to help. =)
Susan Mercedes Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
TheMooKooJoe: For a young lad, you’re awfully wise. I appreciate the encouragement.
TheMooKooJoe Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 5:50 am
Well thank ya’, and that’s what I’m here for!
Oh, and I want to now encourage you to at least post once a week on the blog. It’s too awesome to just throw it out along with the likes of twitter, facebook, etc.
Wednesday, September 23rd 2009 at 1:43 pm
Nope. Couldn’t do it. NO WAY! Not even going to pretend to try. And if you do, make sure you still blog!
Susan Mercedes Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Becky: Well that is a super sweet request to have. Thank you. Life will (if I do it) seem so empty, but the blog may have to be included in my hiatus. We’ll see.
Thursday, September 24th 2009 at 11:54 am
I try to “unplug” at least one day a week (usually on Saturday) so that I get away from it all on a regular basis. That way I don’t feel too pressured to keep up with it all the time and my relative sanity is maintained. I’ve also stopped getting online at least 2 evenings a week. Much happier with it that way, and I don’t feel like I need to do a full scale detox.
Susan Mercedes Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Rachel: I need to follow your lead. That sounds like a healthy plan.
Friday, September 25th 2009 at 2:26 am
I’ve done it and while I enjoyed NOT being tethered to all things electronic, I still had that nagging feeling that I was missing something, and I hate that feeling more than I loved the not-being-tethered feeling. Do I think you should try it? Definitely not. Mainly because you’re one of my only sources of entertainment (and obviously I’m not the only one who feels this way, LOL).
Susan Mercedes Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Amberly: You’re sweet. You’re the first person to NOT support the plan. Maybe I should listen to you. Thanks for calling me entertaining.
Saturday, September 26th 2009 at 5:08 pm
lol, same here. I gave up TV, and devoted all of the resulting free time to the Internet.
Susan Mercedes Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Chanson: Why is that? We feed one addiction with another. Maybe I’ll start using crack just so I can quit and then hope I fill the void with exercise or something.
Monday, October 5th 2009 at 3:07 pm
First off I’m your biggest fan.. i need to make t-shirts & booty shorts to support your awesome blog!
I may just have to try this challenge..
Secondly, I’ve wanted to “unplug” and see what life is without twitter/facebook etc.. Can I do it? I’m sure I could.. It might actually make me pick up a phone and call someone over the phone and actually have a real live conversation..
Internet does waste a lot of time.. but then again some of my funnest weekends were when I wasn’t on all the social media shit all weekend. Let’s be honest, I scroll through everyones tweets and say to myself “I could have lived without knowing that” (except a few I have on a pink list, you’re on it don’t worry)
Susan Mercedes Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
h0neyb: Your support and enthusiasm seriously makes my day! Thank you. A lot.
Next, I think we should do the challenge at the same time. AND do the detox too. It’ll be like a full body and mind cleansing. *shaking from fear* Fuck, I’m scared to commit to both (mostly the technology detachment) though.