The 5 Day Facebook Fast!

I will admit it, I'm a facebook junkie.  I get home from work or school and immediately check my facebook.  I enjoy being able to keep up with some many people by not having to call and talk to them.  It's my way of being personal with people by being impersonal.  So when it came time for me to do my next blog post, I wanted to find something that would be hard for me to go without.  Facebook instantly came to mind.  I tried to pass over the notion of going without facebook, but I kept going back to it.  So I started my "diet".  I decided to not do anything on facebook for 5 days, and see how I felt after it.  This is my journey...

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Day One
I started the day like any other day.  I got up and got ready for work.  I usually don't leave any extra time in my morning to check my facebook, so I had no issues until I got to work.  I work at a cafe, and every morning I get on the Cafe's Facebook Fan page to promote some kind of drink.  I walked over to the computer and realized that I couldn't open Internet Explorer without breaking my fast.  I quickly walked away from the computer and waited for someone else to come in to do it for me. When I got home from work the first thing I did was turn on my laptop.  With a blink of an eye, I was on the Facebook home page. I wasn't even 12 hours into my fast and I broke it, but wait, I haven't logged in yet.  So I decided that I didn't break any rules, because I wasn't technically looking at my facebook.  I went about my business doing homework for school, and fought many temptations to take a peek at my page.

Day Two
After getting use to the idea that I had to be careful around any computer, not logging into facebook became easier.  I had more free time throughout the day to study. This is the day I realized how much time I would spend of facebook.  Just getting on to check people's status updates would turn into 30 minutes of exploring different pages. I enjoyed having more time to do things that didn't consist of me sitting in front of a computer screen.

Day Three
This day was the hardest. I desperately wanted to know what was going on in many of my friend’s lives, but didn't want to take the time to call them all. I called a few of my friends, just to check in on them.  It seemed out of place to have a whole phone conversation, really about nothing.  I felt like I was back in junior high, talking on the phone for hours, until I would be yelled at by my mom to get off.  Having long conversations on a phone is just not part of my life anymore.

Day Four
After reconnecting with many of my friends the day before, I felt great.  There was no need to get on facebook, I knew what was going on in the lives of the people who were important to me.  I went to school and work as I usually did. With my extra time that I usually spent on facebook, I took my dogs to the park to play.  It was a wonderful evening without technology.

Day Five
I finally felt use to not having a facebook, and wondered if I should just get rid of it even after my 5 day fast.  I felt better because I wasn’t spending too much time on the computer.  I was able to spend more time outside.  It made me reconnect with friends on a deeper level. I knew that if I could go without facebook for 5 days, I could go without forever.  I spent most of the day deciding on what I should do and came to this conclusion. Facebook is a wonderful tool to keep in touch with people you wouldn’t necessarily keep in touch with.  It has many pros and cons.  I decided that I just need to stop being completely addicted to it.  The 5 day fast made me open my eyes to what I can accomplish within a day that I didn’t think I had time for before. So I will be keeping my facebook, but you won’t see me “online” nearly as much.

Kindle eReader

            Being an avid reader and tech savvy is a great combination these days, with all the electronic readers out there.  Kindle is Amazons eReader, which battles for the number one selling spot with the Nook from Barnes and Noble.  The Kindle is quite unique amongst its competition, with the High-Contrast E Ink Screen, battery life that can last up to a month, and enough storage space to hold up to 3,500 books. I decided that the Kindle was the perfect Christmas present for myself, so I picked one up and have been trying it out for a month, and here is what I thought.

            Just choosing the right eReader for me was a hard decision.  Every eReader, or application is unique in its own way.  The Kindle prides itself in the screens adaptability to different light.  You can be on the beach or in a low lit room, and you can still see the words.  The Nook has many different “apps” that makes it more versatile, and has a screen that’s in color, for different pictures.  You can also get an Ipad and put the Amazon application on it to be able to read off of your Ipad.  I choose the Kindle out of these three because, I wanted to feel like I was reading an actual book, Amazon’s eBooks are the a lot cheaper than Barnes and Nobles, and the Kindle just came out free wifi on their newest model so I can download books anywhere.

            After waiting diligently for a few days for the Kindle to arrive, I found the small box on the front porch.  Amazon’s attention to detail is wonderful, the box is compact and durable, and it has quotes from famous literature all over it in various fonts.  I opened the box and quickly connected it to my pc, through an usb cord, to set it up.  It only took a few seconds to have it up and running.  I downloaded various books the first night, none of which included the Twilight series, and left it in “sleep” mode to charge.  The next morning it was fully charged and ready to go. 

            The Home screen is high customizable, I made different tabs for different genres of books; it also comes with a Dictionary, and a User Guide.  Also you can download various games for free.  When opening up a book it goes to the first page of the novel, or where you left off last.  Changing pages is a breeze with the side buttons that are right where you would change a page in an actual book.  You can also shop for books and games at the Kindle Store right on your Kindle.  Downloading books are almost too easy; sometimes I go on a downloading spree, forgetting that each book cost money.  Amazon is really great about putting different books on sale for a dollar every week.  I check back constantly to try to get these great deals for later reading. Overall the layout of Kindle is easy to navigate.

            The Kindle doesn’t do it all though.  The screen is just black and white, no fun pictures with children’s books or games.  If you have to check your facebook every 5 minutes the Kindle is not for you.  Their internet browsing is just “experimental”, and freezes up anytime you ask it to do more than check email, and buy books off Amazon.  If you want to keep you Kindle safe you have to buy a cover for it, which can only be bought through Amazon.  These covers range in price from $39 to $300.  Getting a good cover with a light built into the side just adds another $70 to your already big Amazon bill.  They claim that the battery life last up to a month with the wifi turned off, which I haven’t seen happen. The battery usually last for a week or two, dependent on how much I read that week. The overall con’s to the Kindle are not too big of a deal to make me want to return it, or not enjoy it.

            My Kindle has brought me much joy through ready various books that I would have never read.  Being able to be anywhere and download a book is wonderful. Yes, the Kindle could improve on a few things, but if you are an avid reader who wants it only for reading, this is the eReader for you.