Hmmmmmm. I remember when I entered the black hole of the blog universe. While it has expanded and contracted, it has been a big time investment and I'm still wandering around in it . . . and still enjoying and justifying it. I haven't joined Facebook or Pinterest because I feared they would be even deeper black holes of time expenditure and I might never resurface. I've also wondered how in the world I could ever reciprocate meaningful correspondence on a Facebook scale. (Wasn't it The Tipping Point that suggested that most of us only have the capacity to balance about twenty meaningful relationships at a time? Do you think that is true?) I struggle keeping up with correspondence as it is, Facebook correspondence seems too massive for my skills to successfully navigate.
But, I'm wondering if my thinking needs revisited. For example, while I greatly admire the Amish for trying to diminish worldly influence in their lives, I'd rather try to live humbly with electricity than humbly without it. Am I trying to live without electricity by not having Facebook and Pinterest?
What are your thoughts on the matter? I'd love to hear your pros and cons . . . and how many meaningful relationships you can successfully juggle at a time.
14 comments:
I loved this jane...yes, ryan and i are up way too late trying to send pictures to his mom for their traditional christmas calendar and i thought I'd stopped by. I'm all about simplicity...I once had facebook but decided spending time with my kids was much more important than checking my facebook for a hoped for comment (which is very childish..."hoping" somebody would write a comment). I also decided that being in any kind of contact with the opposite gender was no good...never is, never will be so why mess with it...and lastly, I just think it's all rather "shallow." I would MUCH rather read about someone's experiences, lessons, etc. then see pictures of them and read what their favorite t.v. shows are (if you get what I mean?) Plus, trying to keep up a blog is plenty for me...but right now, it's all about my family.
Sorry this comment was so long...but thank you for sharing this post:)
I don't know about it. I'm on facebook, but I don't really get it. I like that I've been able to find a few people I've lost touch with and check in with them- that's the main pro. But besides that I don't know how useful it really is. I started looking at it in the middle of the night when I was nursing Joslyn because my phone had a button that took me straight to it. I rarely comment, but going and looking to see if other people have commented can become a little addicting, like checking your email but less personal. Another pro though, I have found that it's useful when you want to make an announcement to a group of friends about something. Like "does anyone want to go to the park" or "can someone watch my kids for me?" That way I don't have to call tons of people and feel rejected by all the "no's" but I still get a few "yes's." This probably isn't helpful.
Hi Jane - I can only balance one relationship at a time, most of the time! That is my key - do them one by one by one. Yes I do FB but mostly only to family - my family is large - over 150 of just cousins, aunts and uncles - it is like a big family reunion without the expense time wise or financially and all 6 of my children and spouses are there as well as some of the 19 grandchildren that are old enough. I also have several Skype groups where I receive and give help in Family Search Indexing. I am connected there to people in all time zones and areas of the world. If you want me to answer a phone let it ring or leave a message ... you are in line - I will get to you when I am done with the 'one' I am with now. At this second it is you. BTW - I do enjoy reading your blog. I mostly lurk but I can't resist this one ... and it didn't even beep, blink, burp, bong or tweet ... I keep up one at a time.
I'd skip Facebook and go for Pinterest. I know lots of people get sucked into Pinterest, but I honestly forget it's there a lot of the time. A quick scroll down is enough for me. But I LOVE the ability to pin ideas and go back and look at them/for them. Recently I've taken to dog-earing the things I really like on the pages of my magazines as I read them, then going to the respective website. There I pin the ideas to Pinterest. I can pass along my magazines without feeling like I'll forget all the good ideas I just read. I love my holiday boards, and as holidays come up I can just glance there for some fresh inspiration!
Many people, including myself, have found old friends on Facebook. This can be a good and bad thing.
While I love reconnecting, it is time and energy consuming. I hardly have the time I wish with my family and ward family as it is.
I got on Facebook for about 1 year and finally told Derek to change my password and not tell me it! I just ended up spending more time on there than I wanted. It is a black hole of time and energy.
Now that Derek has my password I get on once a month, maybe, and now find that I really don't like even doing that.
That is my personal preference. FYI, once you get on FB, it is VERY hard to just delete your account and the personal settings are always changing so you must be on top of it in order to not expose your whole life to people you really don't know.
Interesting thoughts. I like what you said about the blog universe expanding and contracting! True, and probably good for me. I think twenty meaningful relationships would probably be my limit.
I signed up for Facebook because a speaker at Women's Conference recommended that we not let our children have parent-free technology zones. But I hardly ever use it, and neither do my children, so I guess that's that. I don't usually care about most people's status updates, and I abhor all of the dumb games, but sometimes it is useful - I communicate with my grandpa and my piano students' mothers on facebook.
I adore Pinterest. It can be a black hole, but it has probably cut into my blog reading, so it evens out. I use the ideas and recipes that I pin on Pinterest all. the. time.
I love Pinterest! But not in an addicting way (like facebook can tend to be). As stupid as it may sound, I'm convinced it can change your life! I don't even check it everyday, but I love having a dozen projects or ideas I want to remember right in my 'back pocket' if I want them.
Facebook - NO. I waste way too much time on it and wish I could just delete my account, but I've come to rely on the convenience of contacting people on it and I like the groups that I'm part of (a local fitness group and mommy daughter book club)
Pinterest - YES!!!!! and let me know when you do because I would love to follow you and see the ideas you pin!
Facebook...I often think it's just given us another medium by which we judge one another. Yuck.
On the other hand, Pinterest is a win all around. I think it actually saves me time and space. I no longer have to have a ton of bookmarked favorites or folders on my computer of all the great ideas I come across. They are all "in the cloud" on pinterest and accessible from whereever I happen to be (or even on my phone, which has been handy at the craft store!). Plus, like another person said, it has significantly cut down on my blog checking; because if there's a good idea out there, you know it's going to be pinned by someone. This is what also makes it a great "Google" replacement--if I'm looking for ideas or inspiration, I can get the visual "best of" by searching it on pinterest rather than google.
That said, it can definitely suck your time away from you in the beginning, but it evens out once the initial rush and learning curve are over.
I am not a facebook person. I think having a page on the internet with my first name, last name, where I live and pictures is a little creepy. Yes, yes, there are privacy settings, but it still scares me.
I just started pinterest not long ago and have enjoyed that. I really don't spend much time on there, but I have found some great ideas and tried them out and had them work. Also, it is helpful for me when I see something I want to do I can 'pin' it, rather than add another bookmark to find again later. I can see how some people get sucked into it, but it hasn't been a problem here.
I love this post! Everyone here in Colorado keeps trying to get me to get back on. They look at me like I'm crazy for not being on anymore. I wouldn't ever get back on, even with al the pressure around me. I loved reading all the comments from everyone and seeing that there are other people that feel the same way I do. I agree that pinterest isn't as addicting. When I first got on I thought I was obsessed with it... but I definitely don't get on as much as I use to. If I ever feel like I'm too addicted to pinterest I'll close my account. Occasionally it is fun to sit down and look at all the ideas people have.
This is the deal, you are not in the dark ages, live without FB, your influence is far reaching and FB is mostly superficial! (However my sister uses our cousins groups to post stories of grandparents and other relatives, she doesn't blog.)
How many relationships? I dare not count...7 kids and 15 grand-kids would eat up the tally! Very clever post.
Oh, I'm only on Facebook to monitor my teenagers, but I am on Pinterest for myself! I'm sure you have the self control for it! It won't suck you in toooo deep.!
It has been interesting to read all the comments...
Apparently I am in the minority. I have found Facebook to be a very useful tool. Like all tools you have to have rules in place and use it properly. I have found that I am able to sustain Jeff in his callings using Facebook. I can take a few minutes (literally ten minutes or less), 2-4 times a day to scan everyone's status updates. I find out all sorts of information that I can pass on to Jeff especially when he was Bishop. Who is having a baby, who is stressed out or sounds depressed, who has a husband who is working long hours, who is sick or headed to the hospital. It is also one of the only ways my sister communicates and I would have zero contact with her if I left Facebook.
Like many online tools Facebook and Pinterest aren't bad or good in and of themselves...they are tools and we have to decide if we have the maturity, time, self-control, desire, etc. to use them. I love Pinterest as well and it has given me great ideas for homeschool and for decorating the house but I am not as good at controlling the time I spend on it so I try to limit myself and only use it after the kids are in bed at night and I don't have more important things to do.
I know this is a long post but I feel like it is so important for us to find good ways to use the technology we have been given. It is interesting to me that I have met people who will call Facebook a waste of time (even though it is a place where there is *some* type of interaction) and yet they spend more than an hour a day watching TV.
Anyway, that's some of my two cents! :) I have more thoughts but I've gone on long enough as it is!
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