Slave to the Web

My month of reducing my superfluous web browsing is over.  Looking over my list of what I said I would not do online, it is clear that I part-succeeded and part-tanked this challenge. Here’s a brief report card of how I did with each item:

     1. I'll be abstaining from all items listed under "Super Superfluous." 

This was a mixed bag. In terms of social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), I abstained almost 100%.  I accidentally logged into FB the very first day.  That’s it.  If this were the whole of my “Super Superfluous” category, I’d get an A.  But it isn’t. While I managed not to peruse online stores for things I don’t need, and avoided YouTube and strangers’ blogs, I totally looked up every cast member of Game of Thrones on IMDB.  AND I spent over an hour late at night reading stupid gossip on EOnline!  Grade: C 

"Moon of my life, my sun and stars" Credit: HBO

      2.  I will spend no more than 15 minutes daily looking at friends' blogs and the news 

          online.

Aside from gossip “news” on EOnline! (so not news), I did keep myself in check here. Grade: A

      3. I will check my email no more than three times a day.

Three times a day….ha!  I was doing pretty well during the first couple weeks of August.  I only checked it twice during one eight-day period, in fact (vacation away from Wi-Fi helps a lot).  But then I came back from my trip and I had a bunch of business to do at the computer and I found myself checking my email all the time.  And I mean, ALL the time. Grade: D+

I should just be on vacation always.

       4. I will limit set time limits on how long I research any particular issue for a project to 

           avoid getting sidetracked on tangential but nonessential research questions.

Hmm.  Well, in terms of WORK projects, I did pretty fair at this.  Considering I forgot to set actual time limits.  But I did manage my time researching for work projects pretty well.  And I didn’t get so sidetracked on tangential but nonessential research questions.  Now researching other non-work, but necessary things, like how to unload my recently trashed car for some cash, and looking into a new car, wow, did I waste a lot of time researching and browsing there.   Still, it’s important to be well informed when shopping for a car….Grade: B-

Sold!  To DamagedCars.com for $600!

      5. I will allow myself to watch a total of four streaming episodes of anything a week. 

I was doing GREAT at this.  Until this last week.  When I totally forgot and watched the entire first season of BBC’s “The Hour” online.  Honestly, I purchased the first episode, so that wasn’t technically streaming…right? Grade: B

Obsession du jour: BBC's The Hour. Photo credit: Laurence Cendrowicz, BBC

   

     6. I will write my blog posts offline and spend no more than 20 minutes posting them,  

         uploading pictures, linking links, and formatting online.  I will spend no more than 30 

         minutes writing any blogs, and limit myself to four posts total during August.

Given the fact that I wrote one blog post in August, and I was quick about it, I did great at this last item. Grade: A

My Reduce Superfluous Web Browsing Month GPA: 2.83.   According to this chart, that’s a B average.  I had a B average in high school too, but a 3.3 definitely looked more impressive.

Still, I don’t feel like this month was a failure by any means.  My difficulty in tuning out to all the unimportant Internet clutter illustrates how deeply the web has ingrained into our culture and routines.  Twenty years ago, I would have never eaten my meals in front of my computer.  (Granted, 20 years ago, I still lived with my parents and we ate at the dinner table most nights--only in special circumstances were we allowed to eat in front of the TV.)  But now, I live alone and, due to my apartment’s limited space, I don’t pull out my official dinner table unless I have guests.  So frequently, I type between bites.  Or “click-to-buy” while chewing.  What if I just sat and ate by myself without anything to watch or read in front of me?  People used to do this!  I swear!

Evidence of lunch.

*          *          *

Really, this month has been all about Facebook.  Not being on Facebook.  So many friends, upon hearing that I was going Facebook-free, said something like this: “Wow.  I could never do that.”  I’m here to tell you, “Yes you can.”  Was it hard?  Sure, a little.  It was hard not knowing how to contact people because I’ve only used Facebook to communicate with them.  And it was hard to not to type in the URL every time I opened a web browser.  But did I miss it?  Honestly, I missed my friends more than the site itself.  I know I missed some notable news from my amigos this past month.  New kittens and babies and jobs, lost loved ones and hurricane damaged houses and crashed cars.  It is nice to hop online and see those things for a quick reminder of how very awesome my friends are. 

You are!

There is one other thing I’d like to say about not being on Facebook this past month.  August was not a very good month for me.  I took some big knocks.  The last time I took this many knocks in one month, I joined Facebook to connect with people in my time of need.  Later, when I’d pulled myself back up again, I came across a print variation of this GQ piece.  And I realized that during my dark time, I’d totally been “Misery Lady”. 

Don't pity me.  Well, maybe just a little lot.

Like Misery Lady,  I’d been publicly wallowing in my crappy life, fishing for attention, and coming off as a total downer.  I was horrified with myself and pledged never to be “Misery Lady” again.  Anyway, this month, I was so glad I was under a Facebook gag order, because it would have been very difficult to resist posting a mopey status update or two.  No “Misery Lady” for me, thank you!

Perhaps I'll try to be this guy instead.

Going forth, my goal is to have a looser relationship with Facebook.  Maybe I won’t log in every single day.  If I can only log in once a day, that would be commendable.  And I vow to keep trying to stop consuming mindless gossip on EOnline!  Because that truly does kills brain cells.

Oh, quick report on my attempt to contact lots of people I hadn’t communicated with off of Facebook in at least 6 months.  I did not hit my goal of 16 people.  That was super, super ambitious.  But I did connect with six people who fit my criteria, and I also spent a lot of time writing and talking to other friends who I’ve seen or spoken to more recently. It was nice to talk and see so many of my friends!

My next post will cover my consumption goal for September, to reduce my consumption of food that is shipped from more than 300 miles away!  Local beets and beers and beef, here we go!