Distraction? Addiction? Or is it a real Problem...

[labelleizzy]

Funny how I can get sucked into an hour on Facebook and random page surfing and feel ill and confused, but an hour of hand-sewing leaves me peaceful, centered and focused.

Actually, it's not funny at all.
It feels to me as though there are forces in the world that draw us out of ourselves into confusion, that the goal of those forces is distraction and dismay and discouragement.

Feels as though these forces are trying to prevent us from accomplishing the wonder*full, important, world-changing tasks we are capable of accomplishing.


Someone I read recently was reflecting upon the results of introducing sugar and alcohol into the diet of the Inuit: addiction and obesity and other health issues resulted... along with the disintegration of the strong traditional society.

Sugar...
Alcohol...
Internet...

Don't get me wrong, I do my best to use my Internet Powers for good, and I know most of us do. I keep in contact with family and friends, both distant and near. I try to keep informed about political issues and problems close to my heart, and to use the internet to learn and grow.

But I do find there's thousands of ways to get distracted and lose focus.

(p.s. In the middle of writing this post, I got distracted, lost focus, wandered around other websites, and eventually left the computer, forgetting to finish this post and, well, POST it. One more data point for my hypothesis)

How many of us have to write down what we came to the computer to accomplish, because once we get online, it's "Oh, I'll just check email and facebook" and two hours later, dazed, go to turn off the screen, only to realize we totally spaced on the One Task we'd set out to finish?

*raises hand very high*

Right at this instance, I have two Chrome windows open, the first has 55 tabs open (I counted) and the second has sixteen. And I'm aggressively using ReadItLater to close tabs!

Why the holy FUCK do I need (or "need") SEVENTY-ONE windows open for websites?

*frustrated*

I think, among other motivations, I feel guilt about not-reading things which are Relevant to My Interests, or I want to respond to people, participate in conversations, try that writing assignment popfiend inspired, decide which events I will actually attend, find inspiration and support in changing my habits...

see?

is complicated.

There is just Too Much Crap out there.
I'm not "keeping up" with Facebook, OR Twitter, much less Google Plus.

Livejournal is where I come for substantial food-for-thought. It's where I come for a human experience.

Here is where people can think, discuss, collect.
Here is where posts *stay still* in their original place, so I can refer back to them easily, they don't get shuffled all around in my reading list.
Here I can bookmark, tag, save to Memories, useful or interesting posts, information, and art.

Honestly?

I hope LJ succeeds. Because for me, it's rather like a beacon on a dark and stormy ocean.
Livejournal (go ahead and laugh now) is a bastion of sanity in the craziness and you-should-buy-this-now, inadequate-creature-that-you-are culture of the Internets and the western, corporate commercialization of thought.

People here truly talk, think, reflect. People here share, comment, (hug), give good advice or smacks with the salmon-of-wisdom.

I'd pitch a lot of the internet out the window (defenestration practice anyone?) before giving up on this site.

Matter of fact, think I will for awhile.

Comments

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

I don't do any gaming online. I tried G+ but it's not cutting it. I'm doing only Twaikus and Twoems on Twitter. I'm using FB a lot more, but making sure to post poetical things so as to inject some art into it. But I love it here.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

by the by, what are Twaikus and Twoems?

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

Haikus and poems written in the Twitter character limit constraint.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

nice to see another fan of twitter poetry :) the 140 character limit makes it a really fun game to play

[ceanncait.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. And I love you very hard for using "defenestration." That's one of my favorite words ever.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

defenestration
exsanguination
microencephalitic.

These are favorite words to spring on unsuspecting high school students... =D

[temperance14.livejournal.com]

....and trying to go to sleep after net browsing. Gah.

[tsgeisel.livejournal.com]

Seeing as how I'm a permanent subscriber to LJ, I'm not going anywhere. I pay attention to LJ posts - both those I read and those I write.

But I know too many people on FB, and only FB, to not keep up with that.

Twitter and G+ remain toys.

[georgiamagnolia.livejournal.com]

I hear you on pretty much all of these points. LJ is pretty much the only place I hang out online for so many reasons you have listed. *hug*

[deedeebythebay.livejournal.com]

I rapidly scan FB for posts that might seem relavant. I somewhat quickly scan LJ, stopping at posts that are by people I know well. I check my email.

And that's pretty much it. Every now and then I give myself permission to explore further, usually only with eductional sights at this point, but it rare. I have far too much to do.

In fact, most of my computer time is me typing up lesson planning or doing my credential work online.

And with saying that, I realize I've become a lot more disciplined with the intarwebs and that makes me happy!

*hugs you* Miss you. Hope to see you someday.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

I will actually try to swing by tomorrow en route to my mom's so I can return Sarah's bodice. (going downstairs now to put that in the car before I forget.)

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

yeah, i love lj too. it has a much more community feel to it than fb/g+/usenet/whatever

[serendipity17.livejournal.com]

This.

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

As far as those million tabs open, if you use Chrome, there's an extension called No More Tabs. I really like it. You can set the number of tabs you permit open (I chose five) and leave it at that.

[beautyofgrey.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, my friendly EAP sent me an article this morning discussing the importance of managing our online interactions, including email. The article indicated that addictions to email and texting actually show a marked drop in IQ and complex thinking skills within a short amount of time. A lot of social networking (and also CNN/MSNBC/etc) leave me feel overwhelmed and overstimulated, and also very distracted and unproductive - so I do try to limit them. I'll confess, though, that I'm currently all over the place network wise - I have FB, which is primarily for keeping up with family/coworkers, and LJ/DW, which are my "thinking spaces", and then I have Diaspora/Tumbler, which are more art/global spaces for me to connect with. (I'm not really using my Tumblr account for anything other than to follow people I like there, though.) I'm into Twitter because it is an ENORMOUS resource for sharing and connecting with local politics, which I am keen on. The fact that Tumbler, FB, and Twitter can be updated from Diaspora consolidates a lot of my networking, but it's still a lot to deal with. :/

[elissali.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you about LJ. I feel like G+ is somewhere in the middle of LJ and facebook, and I really hate facebook. I don't post all that often on here anymore, but I don't on G+ either... But I wish people hadn't abandoned LJ quite so fast. oh well... those of us still here are still getting all that you describe out of it.

[pirategrrl.livejournal.com]

I hear you. Sometimes when I feel like I am wasting too much time online, I do two things:
1. Designate "computer time" and then start a list of things to do later, during computer time. When I spend a lot of time at home, like on a day off, I will often think of something I have to do online (pay a bill, look something up, etc.) and will go to my laptop every time, and then end up checking email/FB/LJ every time. But if I just write it down on a notepad next to my laptop, but don't do it immediately (unless it's urgent) then do them all at once, it prevents me from getting sucked in 5 times a day.
2. Sometimes I set a timer, and only give myself an hour of computer time. When I know I only have a limited amount of time online, I tend to stay more focused on doing what I need to do online, and not wandering off on tangents as much.

I know you were not exactly looking for suggestions, but I hope those are helpful anyway.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

These are good suggestions.

I would say that my biggest and most depressing problem is the complete lack of consistent structure in my day and week, &that I websurf for distraction from that.