4 Hours Without Facebook
This morning I have my weekly meeting at work. We discussed regular agenda, following up on clients, and setting goals for the project this week. I am a digital marketing manager and I live on Facebook six days a week. I logged in this morning and the app seems to be working fine. It was not on my radar to question the functionality of the website. However, after the ending of my meeting around 10 AM central standard time, the application and websites would not load. This was perplexing to me as I have reports that are overdue. Being the diligent millennial that I am, I went to Twitter to see if Facebook or Instagram were down.
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are down.
Of course, after receiving the confirmation, I realize that this means that my workday would be light. Of course, my first instinct was to use other social media applications such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter. Without Facebook to fill in the gaps of my daily usage, I began to think more about what life would look like without Facebook.
Typically, the constant I consume on alternative social media is shared on the Facebook platform. My TikTok's are shared every Tuesday on Instagram stories. It is a scheduled piece of engagement that I called "tick-tock Tuesday". 1400 followers enjoy this content. But today is not Tuesday nor is Instagram working so I did not have too much of a reason to be on the application.
Something interesting has taken place. My mind is deep in more impactful thought. I have been a little more productive today without the distraction of Facebook and Instagram applications. I talk to my parents a little longer. I listened to classical music I've been meaning to listen to for a while. I caught up on the news and have engaged in political discourse online.
I am a member of the first generation of native social media users. My space was my first social media account, Facebook came later in 2007. I have gone through puberty online I have illustrated and narrated my life through events and interactions on social media. The past four hours have not been a loss of life but a remembrance of what life was like before the engagement of an application that is built to never leave you without the want of more.
My profession has not changed and I cannot avoid social media use but these past four hours have taught me that there is a different side of existing IRL.
