Modern Inconveniences?

Taking a look at the internet and the way I use it..

In these days and times we live in, we have so much technology its almost overload! I'm not talking about technology in the workplace. Today, I'm talking about technology in our day to day personal lives! With the internet, cell phones, computers, and tablets, we can access information from virtually anywhere. We can do things that just weren't possible when I was a kid! All the information and apps, its a never ending stream of information 24 hours a day. Most of us (me included) has gotten used to having our phones on us at all times. We've gotten used to having 24 hour access to the internet. I mean really, we use technology in almost every area of our lives now. You can now even access any kind of television or cable program at any time! Internet streaming has allowed for all access movies and sitcom shows at any time. We now depend on our computers and phones for research and study that could have taken hours in a library. Gone are the days of endlessly searching through tons of books and papers in the library for research. Now you can do all the research you want without even having to leave your house. Information and streaming is as close as your phone. Most phones have more storage and speed than a basic desktop computer. We store things in clouds on the internet now. Pictures are now either on our phones, in USB storage, or the internet cloud. Hardly anyone is keeping up with picture books and family photo albums.

And with all this 24 hour access and instant streaming comes a downside. Nowadays, the internet is everywhere! You have your "hot spot" restaurants now and your wireless internet hotels. But what happens when the internet goes out and isn't working. Many of us have faced this at one time or another. Not being able to connect or get online. It can be a cause of great anxiety and worry for some. Not being able to rely on the internet as you usually do can put you in the worst mood. I have even heard of people having break-downs because they had no internet service! Have we become that connected that we get depressed when we cannot connect online? For some this can be a real issue. Not being able to check or post on social media can cause some to panic and get very anxious. Studies say we look at our phones every 10 minutes to check our social media accounts. I know some people who check their phones way more than every 10 minutes. Posting on social media and keeping up with your friends through social media is at a all time high. Gone are the days of getting together to hang out with your friends face to face. Now even when you are with your friends everyone is looking at their phones!

What about internet down times? What about the times when your internet provider is having problems getting the internet back up? Most of us also have high speed internet service at home. We use our wireless devices and computers at home usually without a thought of the internet provider. That is until something goes wrong! I have been without my home internet service for as long as a week! As unsettling as it was, I made it through. That week was one of the hardest weeks in my life. I could not check my social media, I could not post or update my status. I could not see what my friends and family was doing or posting through social media! I felt like I was left out...
That week without the internet taught me a lot. For one thing, I found that I was way more attached to social media than I should be. The second thing I learned was most of my personal interactions was not coming from a personal, face to face relationship, my interactions were mostly social media related. I was spending too much time on social media and not living my life. Life had become about the best photo shot to post on social media... Or the best place to eat so that I can take a picture to post to social media. A lot of what I did revolved around social media and the internet. In that week without internet I couldn't even watch YouTube!

After the week was over and the internet was back up and running, I decided to do things differently. I was not going to keep doing things the way I used to. Even though I loved social media, being honest with myself, it didn't bring me any closer to my family and friends. It was something totally different with social media! It was more competitiveness than I should be... Everyone now is just trying to be the most popular one. Everyone wants to be noticed and seen. Everybody is trying to "one up" on everybody else. Who's got the best looking profile pic, who has the most followers, who can get the most likes... Most of us not even know personally some of the people we've "friend" on social media. Just to have a high amount of followers we "friend" anyone who send us a friend request! This is now what social media is mainly about. It's too competitive and not enough social. Then you've got your everyday social media trolls and haters! This is not what I wanted when I signed up for social media! People are making whole new personalities than their real life on social media and the internet. They pretend so much on social media that they forget some people know them in real life! Some of us know that there are those who fake everything they post! Some people have even went so far as to get plastic surgery because of how they looked on social media! To me this is crazy...

You take the fact that the internet isn't all it crack up to be, and you take the fact that the internet does and will go out from time to time, leaving you without service or a way to connect, and what you end up with is a modern inconvenience! It's a game being played online through social media! But I've decided to fight back in my own way! No, I'm not getting rid of social media all together, but I am going to be more aware of the time I spend on social media. I'm going to pay more attention to my actions on social media and limit my time! There's no need for me to be online 24-7. I have a life to live and things I'd like to do (in real life)! I don't want to be so attached to my phone, social media, and the internet, where I disrespect my friends and family by not paying them any attention when they are in front of me (but instead I'm always looking on or checking my phone)! I'm going to treat the internet as a tool, not a must have or a social event that I must do for status or to be popular!

I'm older now and cell phones have come a long way! I'm not the only one who feels that the internet and social media has gotten out-of-place! There are lots of people who have decided to end the social media games and close all their accounts for good! There's a movement beginning where people are disconnecting from social media all together! For some, its starting to loose it's appeal. With others, they've just gotten tired of playing the games and putting up with the stress of it all! Now, I'm not suggesting that here, but I would encourage you to take a look at your use of social media! How much are you online these days? Have you ignored others in your daily life because you are always on social media or the internet? Do you get anxiety when there is no internet signal or if you cannot connect? If you answered yes to any of those questions, congratulations, you are probably using the internet too much! Take a look at it and see if there are some ways for you to use less of social media and the internet. Nothing can replace real live personal interactions. The one way to keep your personal interactions with your friends and family is by being there for them. Going to see them. Having lunch or dinner with a friend (leaving your phone in your pocket on silent). Even talking on the phone is a better way of keeping in touch with love ones. I've made it my commitment to pay more attention to the real people in my life. By doing that and living my life, I don't have as much time for the internet or social media... At this point I don't even miss it! Everyday I spend with the people I love face to face is strengthening relationships and keeping a closeness that can't be found on social media. I'm thankful for the whole week without internet and social media! I'm glad I took a look at the internet and social media and the way I used it! From now on things will never be the same!