I am ... a Facebook addict

There you have it, my first blog post!

Well, technically it's not my first. I started blogging maybe ten years ago, but I was introduced to Facebook and the whole concept of blogging was slowly forgotten when I realized how easy it was to connect with friends, post pictures and videos, share links and do whatever else typical Facebook users do.

Facebook took over my life

Slowly Facebook took control of my life and I got lost. I started spending hours browsing the News Feed, reading about other people's lives while my own life was somewhat put on hold. 

Honestly, I wasn't living my life anymore, I was just keeping track of other people live theirs! Through a computer interface, for crying out loud! And the worst of it all: I started contributing to the News Feed by posting weird stuff too!

Before Facebook, I wouldn't even dream of going out to dinner and taking a picture of my plate to let my friends know what I was eating! 

Sharing things and getting likes was becoming a sport. The more likes I got, the more my ego got satisfied. The more comments on my status or any other post, the more I seemed in touch with the world. I didn't realize how dangerous this was, until it was too late...

Hello, I'm Iona and I am a Facebook addict

This is getting out of hand, seriously. Facebook is an addiction, people! I see it all around me: everyone is on their phone or laptop, posting, browsing, liking, commenting. All communication goes through Facebook. People hardly even talk face to face anymore.

Therefore, I have decided to claim back my life!

I'm only at the start of this and naturally I'm not ready to give up my Facebook account just yet. (I tried it once and it backfired. I even lost friends, who thought I was weak, fake and judgmental)

But, I have decided to focus on my own journey and I will spill my thoughts on this blog from now on. I will write down my thoughts, feelings and life's adventures in the form of a blog post instead of uploading a Facebook status.

The idea is that uploading something to Facebook is done in a jiffy - BAM, I got my fix, while making a blog post is something you actually need to sit down for and spend time on. It's something you do more consciously, just because it takes more time and effort. I feel blog posts will have more meaning.

My Facebook account

Of course I will not delete my Facebook account, to be honest I don't think I even dare. (Let's face it, I am a true addict who cannot give up on her addiction)

You see, Facebook does have good features. (... here we go, the excuses...) It is still an easy way write a quick message to a friend, make new friends or promote art work.

But I'm going to try and spend less time on this addictive social network. Sure, I'll post the links to my blog entries on my Facebook page and with that invite you to read them. Also, I may still read the things you post and comment on them, but as said before, my life is mine to live and mine to focus on. It's my journey. You have your own journey.

Does that sound selfish to you? It's not meant like that. After all, we're all friends, right? But this addiction has taught me one thing: life is not about how many people like your status, your picture or your video, but about you wanting to share something that is worthwhile to share, regardless of the response you get. It's about the message having meaning to you the writer, not about how many people like it.