UBM Post 22 - FaceBook

I had given up my smartphone in 2011 and much of 2012...and then after R Jr.'s birth, I decided to get one again for a variety of reasons. And FaceBook (FB) was NOT one of them.

However, I will admit. Now that I have the FB app on my iPhone, I check it several times a day. I don't go looking for anything in particular....but one mom's group that I am part of (a close-knit circle of 18 moms) uses FB as our primary mode of communication. Recently, I got added to an Indian Women Blogging group, and some of the stuff posted there is good too. If I get a personal message or a tag, I get an email notification so I don't have to open FB for it, which is how I like to keep it.

Beyond that, I put pictures of the food I cook. A LOT of people have told me in person that they love the new recipes I share, and have asked me to continue to do it. Some may think of it as show-off. Whereas for me, to be very candid, I do it for motivation. I love creating something new that the family will enjoy (mainly the kids) and that might benefit other folks too. It helps me to keep being innovative in the kitchen and not look at cooking as boring. When you spend so much time doing something every single day of your life, it better be appealing to you.

I also put up pictures of kids. Typically once a month. Now this I do for my extended family - cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts - who live all over the world...I've got relatives in UK, Aussie, Africa, Canada, and of course the US/India. It's good for them to see the kids growing up. When I happen to meet them, they are fairly up-to-date on their ages atleast :).

And since I love travel and photography, I have a lot of photographers on my news feed. It amazing to see their work every day. I get lots of travel tips too. My absolute favorite photographer (or photojournalist) is Steve McCurry. Check out his galleries here (http://stevemccurry.com/galleries) and the quotes he carefully chooses to go with each of them. Beyond Amazing! There are many others.....including a few friends who are very good at it.

And that's pretty much it. I only check the first page of my news feed and will 'like' something that pops up...a picture, a note, a quote, a status. I don't spend time to scroll down and catch up on things I've missed.

I also have a rule - I don't mindlessly browse FB when I'm around the children. This applies to laptop and iPad too. No TV either. It helps me focus on them and being tuned it to them which I feel is a must. I also observe all the little things they do, and usually have my camera out to capture all the precious moments.

I don't read blogs either from FB feeds. I reserve 5-10min chunks during my day at work to read blogs. It's usually more than enough. Before bedtime, I prefer to read a book. But gone are the days where I could read until the wee hours of morning...I decide a time limit and force myself to sleep after that.

The reason I thought of writing this down is because I saw many people from my friends' list making comments of quitting FB, or taking a break. I think it is easy to get addicted. And if you are, you MUST detach yourself. I routinely give it up....when I travel, I rarely check emails, forget FB. For this blog marathon, I scheduled the blog posts in advance for the 3 days I was traveling during the long weekend. Family time, reading time, travel time, quiet time, and work time - they are all sacred....and its best if you not let your social networking let it affect them.

On the flip side, FaceBook IS a social network. If you use it, then don't be judgmental of what people post. I used to get irked by a couple of things - 1. People putting pictures of their kids, spouses, pets, or something else as a profile picture. I always put only my picture.....coz someone from high school or college wanting to connect with me should recognise me. Afterall, it's my profile, not my family's. 2. People showing off by only posting when they travel and visit places. A lot of people do that. You never hear anything about their routine lives, but the moment they go out of town, they start posting details. Then again they disappear, until next time. Now, I'm amused by it. Does not affect me anymore. To each their own.

And last but not the least, one important tidbit - hubby does not use FB. Ramesh will say - a blessed soul, like himself :)....true to some extent, but not when every weekend, he asks me updates about "his" friends from school/college and his sister/nephew, wants to check pictures of their kids, wants me to remind him of their birthdays, and what not. Thankfully, they are just a few, and very nice people...so I don't mind the bugging from him :).