Could You Drop Out Of Social Media? Should You?

[M.D. Holloway]

Here is a story about a young guy who basically goes socially Amish - well, not entirely but as Amish as a 20 something can go. Interesting.

http://news.yahoo.com/90-days-without-cell-phone-email-social-media-015300257.html


Now, could any of you do this? Should any of you do this? I prolly will in the next month or so jus because I have a load of writing to do for 2013 & 14 and according to my calculations my start date to write at least 100 pages a month is quickly approaching.

Drop Facebook, Twitter, E-mails and Cell Phones (non-business related) and go back to letter writing...hmmm.

Could you do it? Should you do it? What are the benefits and downfalls for you?

[sc_rufctr]

I could defiantly do it... But why would I? My life is better with all that extra stuff.
And if it gets too much then just drop off for a while.

[Rick V]

Last year around mid summer I had a rather bad slice of life and was about as bad off as a person can get without visiting the place with mattress wallpaper. I fell of the face of the electronic earth. I needed the least amount of outside influence as I could get. As I started to come back on line I dropped 75% of the things I used to go to. Here and a private forum are it for my forums, face book in short doses (keeping my eyes out for a few specific people I need to "talk" to) and it is much more manageable for me and I liked the disconnect. I can see another one in my near future.

[red-beard]

I'm not on Twitter. I think dropping Facebook is a good idea. I've pretty much stopped checking it; I don't want to see what everyone's two year did last night. Maybe keeping it for potential advertising use in the future. Otherwise, it is a worse time sync that this place.

I am not dropping out of Linked In. And I'm not dropping Pelican. E-mail and cell phones would be impossible with my business.

[Tomas95]

For business reasons, impossible.

Personal? Easy. Other than here, a woodworking forum and LinkedIn, that's all I will ever need. But if I had to tune these out for 90 days, no problem. Plus, think of all the riches to return too...

[flatbutt]

this place is as social as I get

[A930Rocket]

+1

this place is as social as i get

[Embraer]

ive been on facebook since the summer of 2004. i did the myspace thing (deleted that one.) i never got on the twitter bandwagon, and never will.

im about to delete my facebook account. i have it so that nothing is visible on my profile as it is...it was simply a tool to email my old coworkers. i've manually "unsubscribed" from everybody on my friend list...that way i never have to see each time somebody decides to take a crap and post about it.

facebook has changed their privacy settings again in the last few months. no-longer can you post photos and inhibit comments on them. lots of other annoyances.

as i get older, the less i want to talk to people. i'm becoming a crotchety old man and im only 30.

[targa911S]

I don't tweet, never will. I could dump facebook, hell most of those people i forgot for a reason. This place? never. You guys saved my life.

Well alright you made me save my own life.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by targa911S

You guys saved my life.

Well alright you made me save my own life.

Don't make us regret it.

Glad your still around.

[widgeon13]

I enjoy FB for sharing pics but what has been most rewarding is making contact with friends from college and my childhood days. My father was in the Air Force so we moved a lot and I really have no childhood lifelong friends but I have been able to make contact with some people from HS and of course college. These are people who I have not seen or spoken to in 40 years. Great to hear how their lives have turned out after all those years.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

I enjoy FB for sharing pics but what has been most rewarding is making contact with friends from college and my childhood days. My father was in the Air Force so we moved a lot and I really have no childhood lifelong friends but I have been able to make contact with some people from HS and of course college. These are people who I have not seen or spoken to in 40 years. Great to hear how their lives have turned out after all those years.

Agree with that. I haven't kept in contact with a lot of people not because I didn't like them, but because life got so busy. Plus all these tools we use now weren't invented way back when. It's nice to see what's gone on in old friends' lives. Maybe I should sign up for FB again.

[BReif61]

Could I? I suppose everything but the cell phone.

I live by myself, and I do not have a home phone. Take away the cell phone, and I have effectively secluded myself. At that point my life would be little more than work, hanging out at home, and chance encounters with friends that I no longer have any way of coordinating with.

I'll pass.

[yetibone]

Oh, that's easy. Because I'm not a part of the Twit-Face, text msg, iPhone owning, blue teeth havin' social media lexicon anyway, and just as recently as two months ago, got a reliable, no frills, pre-paid mobile phone, my detachment from the internet would only deny me of this, and one other forum that I lurk on, and about four news outlets.

[exc911ence]

Originally Posted by targa911S

I don't tweet, never will. I could dump facebook, hell most of those people i forgot for a reason. This place? never. You guys saved my life.

Well alright you made me save my own life.

Thanksgiving 2012 will be more special for all of us!

As for social media, the actual lack of privacy is scary enough but as an old guy (OK, 42) with a "bun in the oven", I'm terrified of what I'm going to have to try to wrap my brain around when my child achieves tweeting age. I'm half hoping that civilization will have collapsed by then so I can raise my child on the family farm in the new non-global world. Of course, I'd have to learn how to be a farmer to do it and without Google, how could I accomplish that?! I'm doomed...

[pwd72s]

Don't facebook or tweet. I did sign up with twitter to joing the chat at pool tournament live streams...but don't tweet. Posting boards, this being the main one, are for me.

[strupgolf]

I'm not on any, so it's no problem for me. Kind of a sheltered life.

[Scuba Steve]

I could, but I like being able to get back in touch with people that I'd lost track of back in the letter writing / snail mail days.

[svandamme]

I could but it's more practical to Drink&Online then it is to Drink&Drive

[Superman]

Many years ago I realized that my judgment of the Internet will depend on whether it has a tendency to keep people apart or unite them. From my perspective, it seems to be bringing people together more than it is dividing them.

It sure as heck speeds up research and information distribution.

I think I have a Facebook page but I'm not sure I can remember how to access it. People do need to get out of their chairs and do stuff. Race cars or split firewood or join a rock and roll band. Stuff like that.