Here is another Blog I rescued from the archive....
‘Food porn’ is a term you may not have heard before. It refers to the trend of people visiting expensive restaurants, photographing their dinner and posting the snaps on social networks. However, under German law, even if you’ve taken the picture, posting it online could be illegal – because you don’t own the copyright.
On September 18th 2015 I completed 12 months of my Facebook challenge. I was feeling very good about myself. I deleted my Facebook account on my 54th Birthday (18.9.2014) in order to raise money for a local dog charity in Bahrain. Around the same time I lost my mobile phone and decided not to replace it.
I managed without either for a full year and I felt much better for it. I raised over 150 BD (300 GBP) for a Tony the Dogfather by completing the challenge, lost weight (8 kg), got fitter, and the only people who suffered appeared to be my friends who kept telling me I needed to get a phone so they could contact me! My Digital detox was so successful I decided not to replace the telephone and I went without Twitter, What’s App or Instagram until I left Bapco on 14.2.21.
So why take such an extreme challenge? Well in 2004 I stopped smoking, having started at age 13 (1973). On September 24th 2021 I completed 17 years without smoking. Since I moved to Bahrain I stopped drinking so my digital addiction was the last thing to conquer. It had become so habit forming. I would be awake early at 4 am and on the way to the kettle for that first coffee of the day would turn the laptop on, Then I would rush back to see if anyone had sent me a message. I moved to Bahrain in 2010 and within a few months the disappointment of checking my PO Box and finding no mail led me to turn to the internet for email.
My empty PO Box in September 2015 and September 2021- no mail for 3 months
Then I set up Facebook, Linked in and so on. They were great for sharing holiday snaps and keeping in touch with friends around the world. But then the addiction set in- I will just take a photo of that for Facebook – and the need to comment on everyone’s post and share their pictures. Then I added You Tube to the mix and soon the television became obsolete as I could watch the Voice and X Factor around the world for breakfast. I ate so many meals in front of my laptop that the keys began to stick.
"One billion people use Facebook in just one day — making it far bigger than most countries, and easily the most used technology product on Earth.
Mark Zuckerberg announced that for the first time, the site had passed the milestone number that meant that one in seven people on Earth used the site."
Source: "The Independent . August 2015"
It seems I was not alone in my addiction and I read in August 2015 that on one day one billion people around the world used Facebook in one day- so I am sure Mark Zuckerberg did not miss me!
Research has revealed that ( back in 2015) "the average British family spends just 34 minutes together each day, and that much of this time is spent in silence thanks to smartphones and other devices."
Source : http://www.virgin.com/travel/social-networking-offline-and-education-by-astonishment
The only thing worse than a smoker is an ex smoker they say and I have to tell you that the only thing worse than a Social Net-worker is an XSN! I became Evangelical in pointing out people using their I Phone to Tweet in the car, caught my delegates uploading Photos of them on a course with me to Facebook (during the training session!) and noticed that in restaurants people ask for the Wi-Fi password before the menus these days.
The new normal - September 2020, eating without a mobile- for 6 years
What is this world coming to- why does everyone think the world wants to know all their news- listen to their music, and hear their conversations?
So how do I fill my day without the Social Media? Well it’s really quite easy and fun! Maybe you should give it a try. I wake up naturally, at 5 am, have coffee and breakfast and then quickly check my personal email.
At work I check my email 3 times a day ( when I arrive, after lunch and before I go home ) and I never compulsively check my work or home emails every hour which means I don’t think about work and I relax, unwind and have some really enjoyable dreams.
I go to the restaurant (empty handed) and sit by the window ( or outside in the COV 19 new world) to take in the stunning view (rather than ask where the nearest plug is to charge my laptop).
I smell and taste the freshly cooked food rather than photograph it for Facebook. If I am with friends we sit and chat or if I am alone I get the papers and read them- cover to cover, with a coffee sitting in the sun.
I now have time for walking ( 3 x one hour walks a week) and cooking healthy food- hence the weight loss. I also go to the gym regularly, go swimming and cycling. ( before my Hip replacement, obviously!)
So I felt great that I had achieved my Facebook challenge. I challenged myself to stay off Facebook for a year and I promised that if I did I would donate 100 Bd ( 160 GBP, 10,000 Phillipino pesos or $265) to Tony the Dog father. Tony looked after 120 dogs, 120 cats and assorted Donkeys’, goats, rabbits and ducks that have been abandoned or injured in Bahrain, until his sad death some years ago.
I rejoined Facebook for my last few months in Bahrain to keep in touch when I relocated to Palawan
At the time when I closed my Facebook account ( 18.09.14) I had 100 Facebook friends and I asked all of them to donate 5 bd as well ( 7 GBP, 500 pesos or $15) IF I STAYED OFF FACEBOOK TO 18.09.15. Many kindly agreed to support me and my only error was that in deleting my account the message about why I was doing it went also! Most of my friends were so upset that I deleted them that they emailed me to ask why-so then I was able to explain.
So as I end my blog on the need for us all to take a Digital Detox I hope you will give it a try for yourself. My suggestion would be rather than to go cold turkey like me you start with one day at a time! Perhaps dedicate one day a week as Digital Detox day and see how you get on- good luck!
So as they say in Tagalog:
Mahal Kita
Ingat Palagi
Kita Kits
 |  |
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment