Do you find yourself checking Facebook all the time?
Always looking for the new update or information about someone or something? Well, I’d like to share my opinion and thoughts on Facebook and how it takes time away from us. It’s a tool that can be used for legitimate things, but most of us use it to burn time. This time could be spent on a million other things – Better things.
If you look at your time as if it were limited (Which it is) why would you want to waste it?
Do you spend too much time on Facebook?
If you find yourself constantly checking your phone every two seconds, you may have a problem – You check Facebook too much. Remember that generally speaking, you don’t actually accomplish anything on this site.
If you’re using it to talk to your friends, then yes that’s being ‘social’ to some degree, but do you really do that most of the time?
I would wager that most of the time spent on Facebook is spent in the following ways –
- Farmville/Burgerville/Stupidville. These games where you have to create a virtual world and monitor your little ‘patch’ on the Facebook gamespace. You may even get the ‘exciting chance’ to buy things in game! Spend money to waste time, wow that’s a new one.
- Stalking your ex. This is surprisingly what a lot of people now do, they use Facebook to see how their ex partner is doing in life. Sometimes browsing through all their pictures and looking at all their activity.
- Checking out the latest Gossip or Facebook arguments. This is a complete waste of time. Those long arguments that shouldn’t even be public, but it’s like the people in question forget that EVERYONE can see what they’re shouting out to the world.
- Clicking through loads of random pictures. Those fan pages that have millions of pictures with little captions or comments? What are you gaining from looking at the entire history of them?
- Endless scrolling. You keep scrolling down and down and the next thing you know, a few hours have gone by in this way. Scary stuff.
This is all chewing up your time, and this time could be spent doing something so much better.. If you have a hobby or something you want in life, why not use this time to work towards it? There’s not really any answer to that question that would justify spending loads of time on Facebook.
Before I get people all would up with this, I should clarify that I’m not saying to just never go on the site, because it can be useful – We’ll talk about that in a second. I’m just saying that the reason I listed above are totally pointless and a waste of time. Those things are silly and shouldn’t even be done but thousands of people spend hours doing them.
That’s what I’m ranting about here, the list you just read. The Farmville, the stalking, the random scrolling.
‘But I like to unwind after a day at work and play Farmville’
Well, there are some people who are still in the trap of Working > Coming Home >Sleeping >Working.
It’s not the only thing there is to do in life, there are all sorts of other things you could spend time doing that will actually improve your character and broaden your life experience.
In 5 years time, no one is going to remember what level you are on Candy Crush Saga are they? That’s because it doesn’t do anything for you, or anyone else. It’s a time waster, and ultimately it keeps you from achieving your dreams. Games like this on Facebook are the same thing – A waste of time.
Before I talk about how to better spend your time, or what to do instead of the aforementioned list of ‘time sucking doom’, let’s explain how Facebook can actually be good in some situations.
Productive Uses for Facebook
Don’t get me wrong, there are good uses for Facebook.
It can be used to get in touch with people that otherwise it might be difficult to talk to. Some people may live very fay away and therefore talking to them is difficult. This is what Facebook is good for, getting in touch with people you can’t otherwise talk to.
There are a few things Facebook can be used for to produce something or to do something ‘worthwhile’ but these things are not usually what people use this tool for. Most will use it to procrastinate which is a bad thing. Here are some good uses for Facebook!
- Connecting with old friends. Sometimes in our busy lives we don’t have time to physically connect and meet with old friends, we get different jobs people move away etc, Facebook allows you to connect with them over the web.
- Keeping up to date with your favorite bands/company etc. You love A brand! Pringles for example. Using this site you are able to stay up to date with what they’re doing.
- To talk to your friends. This is still no substitute for face to face chats, but sometimes it’s all we can do.
How should you spend your time instead?
What do you really want in life?
Think now about your goals and ambitions. If you don’t have any, then there are more problems with your life than can be solved by reading this post. Most people have dreams, goals and ambitions – the problem is most people don’t have plans, good habits and determination.
So you’re picturing the thing in life you really want to do, but how are you going to get there? It’s going to take WORK.
Lot’s and lots of work is needed to get to where you want to get to, and if you’re spending all your time on Facebook, how are you going to get there? You sleep roughly 8 hours a day, eating and walking takes up another 2-3, driving probably takes up 1-2 hours a day, and when you add all the other things like cooking, talking, thinking, going up and down the stairs you’re not left with a lot.
Time is limited as it is, so burning away precious hours when you have them free is stupid!
Let’s say you want to be a famous football player. There is someone out there (lots of people in fact) who is probably in the same boat as you. He wants to be a football player more than anything, and he happens to get up at 5 ever day to train. He reads about it, learns all he can and moves towards that goal.
Now if you’re sitting there ‘saying’ that you want to be a footballer but spending your time playing Farmville, it’s obvious you don’t really want to become a football player, in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully this is making sense.
If you want something, you will work hard towards it every day, and spending time doing pointless things that don’t help you get there is a bad habit! It’s a bad habit that needs to be broken or you’ll realize in 5 years time that you should have done something about it.
My invitation to you
If you have a goal, and not everyone does, (but you probably do if you’re reading a self help blog) then I invite you to ONLY check Facebook when you need to.
If you have messages to reply to, or if you need to arrange something with a friend or family member online, then check it. Don’t scroll for no reason and don’t play any games. In the time you would have spent on the site, work towards your goal. Whatever your goal is and I’m sure you have one, move in that direction.
The problem I have with Facebook is that people think it’s okay to waste so much time on it! Cut down for a couple of weeks/months and spend the time doing something you love instead. If you actually do this, you’ll surprise yourself as to what you can do in that time.
Don’t ignore this post and then in 5-10 years when you’re not where you want to be, think back and say ‘I should have listened to that guy from Transcend Your Limits.. Facebook’s held me back from my dreams’.