It Was Hard..

By -
..But I did it.

 The one thing which I always take pride in, is my control.

 I eat one piece of sweet and I don't crave for a second. (Except during Diwali, but then, it's Diwali, so let's not judge.)

 I watch one episode of a show on Netflix and I turn off the TV. It's not even like I feel I am missing something. That's my bandwidth, I cannot watch more than one.

 I browse social media for 5 minutes. And then, stop, because I don't need to know more about anyone's life, let alone see their honeymoon pics.

 I watch 2 videos on Youtube and then, I stop. 

 It was always like that. And I was so proud of that.

 Till recently, that is.

 I realized much to my horror, I was not so controlled any more, atleast in one aspect - Social Media and mindless browsing on the internet.

 Now that I am studying and I am expected to read academic papers and journals and most importantly, get ready for an exam this week, I am at the laptop for long stretches.

 Mostly, pretending to study.

 Last Saturday, I spent 6 hours at the study table. And at the end of it:
  • I knew all about Deepika Padukone's 1 Million Views on Padmavati Trailer Party (Really? Is that counted as a celebration worthy event now?) and who all attended it (aAd that rumours about Ranveer and Deeps breaking up are so false, he was there at the party, looking dapper in  casuals, posing with the two young entrants into Bollywood - Sara and Jhanvi - what's up with their dressing sense, huh?)
  • I learnt about Gautam Gambhir's most stressful match ever - playing against his 5 year old daughter
  • I realized Twinkle Khanna and her family went to Juhu over the weekend, she was dressed in a flowery dress, him in casuals. Son, who is normally camera shy, was looking smart and did not avoid cameras (thank God).
  • I saw 16 videos of babies, puppies, babies and puppies, laughing babies, adorable puppies, babies laughing when around adorable puppies.
  • And that most of my friends are traveling, watching Stranger Things, reading, smiling, laughing, posing for photos (always perfectly).

Mark my words on this - Facebook's algorithm is what will cause our race to end. Because while we are busy looking at Videos "That Might Interest us", ogling at celebrity gossip, videos of babies and dogs, and sports events that changed the world - things will happen in the real world, and we will wake up like Rip Van Winkle, wondering what happened when we were sleeping.

Anyway, all this deep thinking (And the fact that I have an exam on Saturday, and I am freaking out), led me to take some hard steps last night - Deactivated Facebook, deleted Instagram and blocked all social media sites on Chrome.

How does it feel?

Honestly? Aside from the fact that I do still have Twitter (And I tell myself, that's because my most favorite professors on my subject are active there and I need to know what they are saying), I actually feel ok.

Sure, a baby video could cheer me up, just about now.

But, I'll survive.

Atleast till Saturday.

Wish me luck. 

Comments

  1. He he..Wishing you all the best to perform well in your exams!! :)

    ReplyDelete

  2. I am very very proud of you. Also, I like this new layout!
    All the best - I am seriously considering deactivating FB, Twitter is long gone, but Instagram is such a happy place :(
    Some day, some day.
    Oh also I solved they mystery of 'What IS Preeti studying' by myself - ok, social media did help. But sounds SO amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Instagram is too happy! That's the problem! It has become my go-to app. :(

      And thank you! :)
      Yes, it is exciting. And fun! I'll write about that soon!

      Delete

  3. Did that with Facebook years ago. Did not feel the pinch after a week. Now I tell myself every week that its about time Instagram also meets the same fate. The time it takes up in a day!
    Anyway, all the best - both for what you're studying and your resolve.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Subtle Art of Breaking News

By -
There was a man called Bob. He had a brother who was a bit of a moron.  Once, Bob was leaving for a long-awaited vacation for two weeks and asked his moron brother to take care of his cat, while he was gone. A week into the vacation, Bob calls his brother to check in. After the preliminary talk, he asks how the cat is doing.
His brother replies, "Oh yeah, about that. The cat died yesterday."
Bob was devastated. And also furious. He said to his brother, "How insensitive are you? Couldn't you have broken the news more gently, so I could be prepared?"
The moron brother is confused and asks for an example how the news should be broken.
So Bob explains, "On the first call, you should have said, your cat climbed up the roof, it's unable to come down. On the second call, you could say, the firemen are here, they are trying their best. On the third call, you say, we are all trying hard, but she's not coming and not eating either. On the final call, you say, I a…
Read more

Rare Talents

By -
So what's the verdict? The one skill that will change our lives in the next few years? Artificial Intelligence? Big Data? Behavioural Science (Shameless plug for my subject)? Blockchain? Cryptocurrency?

I will go out on a limb here and proclaim this - the biggest winner will be the one who learns to listen. That's it. That's the skill that will be the biggest leverage.

Here's my hypothesis. 

Our lives are dominated by screens. From when we wake up, till when the day ends. Screens on phones. Screens on TV. Screens on Laptops. We are hooked to the colors and the movement. But here's the thing. Screens are one-sided communication. Screens don't need input. Screens don't care what you are doing. So, you can be watching a video on YouTube, while posting a comment on a Friend's photo on Facebook. The screen will not feel bad. Or be hurt. It's just the background.

The problem is, our kids are growing up with screens. They probably don't know of a time or a…
Read more

Don't Read This

By -
Don't read this post.
Please. It's not meant for you.
Why are you still reading?
Because you don't like being told what to do, do you?
You, independence-loving, autonomy-addicted, you.
Some call it Reverse Psychology. Some call it just the good old plain logic.
Many years ago, the King of Prussia, Fredrick the Great, also known as Fritz, heard about a new root called Potato. Enamoured by it's nutritional value, he decided that his subjects need to start including potato in their staple diet.
Grand announcements were planned. Drummers would walk across town, singing paeans of the benefits of eating this potato. Cooks would publicly demonstrate recipes with potatoes. I would go out on a limb and say, French Fries was not one of those recipes, because what happened next would just not justify it. 
The public rejected potatoes. That's right. Rejected.
Hard as it may sound, the people didn't want to be told what to do. So, they did not take to potatoes.
Old Fritz was surprise…
Read more