Last night as I was awake with hot flash, I thought of a metaphor for FB, and it is likely to keep me off it, more often. Good!
Not just Facebook, but the internet: my use of it* is like holding a gushing firehose on full blast, pointed at my face. That’s how I imagined it last night in the middle of the night. (But instead of just my face, the gushing hose is actually pointed at my psyche, my brain, and my time and creativity, too.) The flow of information is like the force of the water. It hurts, it’s overwhelming, but if I can be mindful and awake, vs. just clicking and scrolling, I can slow it down, turn it off…
…choose, and be aware of when I choose to point the gushing firehose at all those fragile and precious things (psyche, brain, time, creativity).
*I’m being careful in how I write this. People will say the internet, or social media, is just a tool. Rather than debate the nuances of who is the actor and who is acted upon when we use the internet & social media, I am taking responsibility for how I use it.
Rebecca Kuder 