Two years without entries.. says something about how I've been running - not that kind that makes you healthy :)
I've been thinking about the various apps/sites/tools that are supposed to connect people and the way they influence our lives.
I joined orkut to connect with my friends, then tried facebook and have been sticking to it till now.
Initially it was great fun catching up with friends you have not met in 15-20 years. Friends circle was smaller and updates were manageable to catch up on. When that increases, you see repeats of articles , jokes, photos and videos being shared, Gets boring...
Off late, I feel that it kind of makes me digress from what you have been doing and you end up wasting time. Sometimes, I login with an intention to check and wish friends for their birthdays but end up reading status updates of others, check photos or go through a shared article and spend hours without realizing. It takes lot of self control and discipline to say that I will check fb only at these times and will not spend more than, say 30 mts...Since I lack the discipline, I have stopped logging in as much as I used to do. Yes, I miss out on some serious and important updates, but am ok with it. I have never installed fb on my phone and NO I am not intending to do that ever in future as well...
Taking about the phone/mobile - it is whatsapp days. Similar to fb, when you were part of lesser number of groups, it was great fun. especially when you have family and friends who are not frequent users of a computer/laptop/tablet to be online. Now it is a complete nuisance at times especially when you see the forwarded content repeating in various groups in few mts interval. While I cant forget that it is a great way to have the instant updates and communication going, it again needs lot of discipline to not to check it every second, pick up your mobile to make calls but end up reading your messages :). You also need to delete images and videos frequently...
Having said all that, fb and whatsapp have connected me to my friends who I would have otherwise not connected back in my life and keep in touch with them. I'm part of some great groups which helps me handle my day to day stress easier than before. What it definitely requires is not to go with the flow, but ensure is being used with discipline.
