12:01am Tuesday

Here I am at the conclusion of this experiment and I'm happy to say that I made it through without cheating. Although I desired to check my facebook page every now and again, cheating on the assignment never even crossed my mind. It would have defeated the purpose about identifying the effects that media deprivation had on me. Honestly, pretty much by Sunday this experiment was over for me. By that I mean that, the first couple days were hard because it was new and I focused on the imposed denial of something on myself. Once I got over that and really once the reality of my other schoolwork and life outside of school set in, facebook was only on my mind because I had to write about it for this blog. Other than that, I was fine without. It's like someone in class said about their preferred medium of choice: "I can stop using it anytime I want - I just never want to!" That hit the nail on the head! I like social networking on facebook and it has alot of perks; however, in the big scheme of things, it's not serious. There's way more going on in my life than facebook. Tons more!

In the final analysis, I think I have a healthy balance of media in my life. They serve me well by making loved ones accessible, thoughts more globally conveyed, and, as mentioned in an earlier blog, the quality of my life more pleasurable overall. The experiment was a good tool for introspection and self-analysis.

Officially logging off. Be well.

-Double Consciousness

Quick thougt

This is it! It's over! In a couple of hours I can officially check my facebook account. Suprisingly enough, I'm not even that psyched about checking it; don't get me wrong, I'm not deleting my account or anything but this experiment helped me put facebook in the proper perspective. The thrill is gone. I enjoy it! It's great! It serves a purpose but my no means am I addicted to facebook. My life is filled with so many other more meaningful events that not being on facebook was less like a deprivation and more like a fast, a cleansing, of sorts.

FInal Day Drawing Nigh

The past 24 hours have posed little challenge for me and possible temptation to view facebook. I'm actually doing quite fine without it. This is midterm week for me in may of my classes so, there's been hardly any time allotted in my schedule for facebook. It's more of a "downtime" or "leisure time" activity for me and by the looks of things, there'll be no time for that over the next few days. Gotta get ready for class....Later!

Reflections

It's getting late and I'm about to go to bed but before I retire for the night I wanted to share the following thoughts with you: These past few days without facebook have been....well....what's the word.....I'll go with enlightening. I've confirmed qualities in myself that I already knew (loyal, dedicated, good amt. of willpower, etc.); more importantly, I've learned more about myself and this social networking tool than I ever imagined possible when I initially embarked upon this semi-self-imposed media deprivation project. Prior to this, I described myself as an analog girl in a digital world and while I still subscribe to that definition, it has been slightly altered. The more I deny myself of facebook the more I realize and admit just how much I rely on this medium (and others) to, for all intensive purposes, make my life more pleasurable....I have more to say and will do so...later... my thoughts are incoherent right now. I'm sleepy. Rest calls...I answer. TTYL.

Be well.

-Double Consciousness

Facebook Status': Things that make you go, "Hmmmmm....."

I watched this video on youtube and found it to be so funny! When I got up this morning, I was looking for a clip to post I was thinking that one of the things I miss about not "facebooking" these past few days is not being able to share my status' and view the status' of others. Aside from the personal nuances that ones' status reveals (crazy, indifferent, nonsensical, or otherwise), I often find that, when utilized mindfully, they can be really inspiring. They're usually quotes that make me and the majority of those within my network say, "Hmmmm..." At least one of my "friends" has posted a status that is so on point with something that is going on in my own life, I'm like, "Dag, how do they know?", "Get outta my head!", or "Thanks for articulating that which I, for whatever reason, could not." My status updates have had the same effect on others, I've been told. As a writer, I think that is a large part of facebooks appeal to me: It provides me with a textual vehicle with which to reach out to people and share thoughts, ideas, revelations, questions, etc. and receive what nine times out of ten turns out to be very timely and poignant responses. It's therapeutic and, for me, behaves like an ongoing social case study into not only the idea that there are only six degrees of separation between each human being on the earth but even moreso, that we are more alike than we are different. There are just some things that as social beings we all can relate to. Facebook helps us relate.

(On a somewhat different note, my cousins had a "girls night" last night but I wasn't able to attend and I'm dying to see the pic's on facebook - ;0( Tuesday can't come soon enough!)

Ta-Ta! Be Well.

-Double Consciousness

A New Day

I'm a Sabbath-observing christian so I haven't been on the computer since sunset on Friday. Because this is a regular part of my life's routine, it was not foreign at all for me to go over 24 hours without checking on facebook or without being on the computer at all. I didn't think about it because my time was filled with other, more meaningful and uplifting activities. In some ways, I feel like that's what facebook is to me: a time-filling voyeuristic medium. It's not all bad...but I'd be lying if I said that the time I spend on facebook is all good. When last I wrote I was contemplating to what extent I relied upon facebook to communicate with others and whether that level of dependency was to my benefit or my demise. While I still don't have an answer, I feel better about analyzing the situation and attempting to put media in my life in the proper perspective. I'm learning...that's always good.

That's all (for now) folks.

Be Well.

-Double Consciousness

Facebook and Freud...and Me

This morning when I got up, I fought the urge to log on to my facebook account and check out what had transpired during my night's slumber. Instead, I blogged.....and commented on the blogs of others....and customized my blog page......and blogged some more. I didn't see a problem with this; after all, I was doing my homewok, right? Wrong! What I was doing was a classic case of what Freud titled transference: The time that I would normally have spent on the computer, on facebook was now being allotted to or transferred to customizing my blog. I simply found another way to use technology to express myself and keep me connected to others with whom I share a common interest. Social networking has embedded itself into the fabric of my life and into how I choose to relate to myself and others. With that being said, the question I find myself asking at this juncture in the media deprivation experiment is: Is this aforementioned "embedding" a positive or a negative thing? Excuse me while I ponder....

Be well.

-Double Consciousness

"On your marks......Get set......GO!"

Well, It's been about 7 1/2 hours into my facebook media deprivation experiment and I've already begun to identify what an integral part social networking plays in my life. As mentioned in my blog yesterday, I officially logged off of facebook at 11:59 pm last night; however, prior to that, I spent a few hours on facebook connecting with my friends, checking messages and updates, and just checking out the "goings-on". While so doing, a close friend of mine (we share the same birthday and were roommates in our late teens/early twenties), who now lives in Florida, IM'd me and let me know that she took and impromptu trip to NY and was in the Chelsea section of Manhattan - live and direct! I was so excited! We chatted and made plans to get together today, as she is leaving early Sunday a.m. to return home. As we finalized our plans, we exchanged numbers and said "Ta-Ta".

As I smiled in my head at the prospect of seeing my good friend in just a few hours I thought, "What if I'd chosen to begin this experiment earlier in the day and hadn't been on facebook at that time? I would not have known she was in town because she didn't have my phone number." That's pretty profound. It doesn't end there, either. To further illustrate just how much my "peoples" and I use facebook to communicate, in those two hours or so that I was on facebook last night I learned that just yesterday alone a friend of mine got married at the courthouse, another was in L.A. in 85 degree weather on a business trip, another's elderly mother moved in with she and her husband since we last spoke, and was able to view great pictures that my cousin posted of my children having a blast at her son's 11th birthday party last weekend.

This is the sort of "omnipresent knowledge" that Thompson talks about in his New York Times article, Brave New World of Digital Intimacy makes Facebook so interesting, intriguing, and addictive. For me, and I believe for the millions of other facebook users out there, there is something quite engaging about, irrespective of physical proximity, being "ambiently aware" of the intricacies and nuances of my friends daily lives. This is what attracts me to facebook. This is the luxury that this particular technological medium affords me. This, ultimately, is what I am being deprived of during this experiment.

-Double Consciousness

"Last Supper"

Hello, out there, ;)

As per an assignment in my media class, today is the last day that I will log onto my Facebook account until next week Tuesday. Media Deprivation - aaaahhh! No, but seriously, I think I'll be okay. I'm going into this thing head on and Facebook off (LOL!) I'm gonna OD and stay on FB until 11:59 tonight! - LATER!

-"Double Consciousness"