Forbidden "F"

When I open up a browser window the first thing I find myself doing is typing Facebook into the address bar. For this assignment, I did as directed and abstained from Facebook for a day. Throughout the day I would catch myself typing in the forbidden “F”. I had to make a conscious effort to not go on Facebook, but my fingers still persisted. And I would find myself asking the question “Why am I looking at my Facebook? I totally meant to go on Blackboard (or whatever sight was my intent). Ahhhhh! This was very aggravating. The thing is, I don’t check Facebook nearly as often as I did when I first came to college. However, because I was an addict the habit of going to the site has been very hard to break. And, with this assignment I felt more of a need to just get on it. Perhaps because I was being restricted from something made me want it more.

Once my homework was done I went for my computer. To prevent myself from going and checking things out on Facebook I began looking at design blogs. Since one “obsession” was not being fulfilled I supplemented it with another, blogging. When thinking about Facebook’s appeal photo flipping is on my top list. I am visual. I like photos. So, instead of looking at photos on Facebook I would look at them elsewhere. I would look at photos from design magazines or designs others have created.When boiling it down, I'm looking at photos. I'm staring at a screen and filling my eyes with an image. When I think of it like that I really feel I am mindlessly wasting my time.

Upon completing my day without Facebook I posed the question on my page "Do you think we're all addicted to Facebook?" No response. Waited a couple days, and re-posted:"1-10 how addicted are you to facebook?" Then I got some responses. I was surprised at the honesty I received. First person: 9. Not surprising since it was only seconds after I posted it. A stay at home mom said 4 which I thought was pretty surprising. Then, my sister in law said I went from a 10 to a 2 so that was comforting to hear; while she gave herself an 8. Maybe not all, but people are aware of their addiction.