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Posts Tagged ‘facebook’

  1. Hanging On the Telephone

    July 15, 2012 by Amy Hansford

    I had a brilliant hen weekend. My amazing maid of honour and co found a fantastic house with a maze of rooms, a great chill out lounge plus a pool and jacuzzi. We relaxed, we had the Amylympics and generally escaped from it all which is what we all needed.

    I did witness a curious occurance, and probably would not have noticed it had my phone had an ounce of signal. Unintentionally, I ended up on a communications blackout as I only had signal on my mobile in a small area of the bedroom. This turned out to be a good thing – it forced me to relax. I found myself holding a cup of tea with both hands and being able to observe and enjoy everyone having fun. I wasn’t checking my emails, Twitter or Facebook every two minutes*. I had no idea what the rest of the world was up to – I was happy in the one we’d all made in Lincoln.

    It also gave me the chance to look around. I saw a room full of friends alternating between sharing the experience of a duvet day and near silence as everyone checked their friends’ Facebook statuses. I saw people take photos of what was happening and upload them as soon as they could. Even on a getaway, people were drawn to share their experiences with the rest of the world rather than with those in the room at the time. There’s nothing wrong with this – it’s the world we live in – I just found it curious.

    Similarly, on the last night when there were only seven of us, we had a karaoke session. Karaoke is something that is very much a social experience. You reciprocate the support your friends give you while singing by supporting them when it is their turn. I found myself singing a tune and looking out to find silent friends checking their smart phones. Again, that’s now the norm and wouldn’t be noticed in the pub, but it was a strange thing.

    I should reitterate, had I had normal reception on my phone, I would have been doing exactly the same.

    So what did this experience teach me?

    I am too reliant on my phone and, specifically, my internet access.
    I’ve started leaving my phone on the table at home rather than having it stuck to me.
    I’ve vowed not to live life through a lens – I will watch gigs and shows and giggles, not record them.
    I appreciate seeing friends and family and keep reminding myself that tweets, messages and emails won’t disappear if I don’t look at them.

    How much do you rely on your phone?

    *Yes, that’s pretty much the frequency I check. I am addicted to my iPhone.


  2. Spring(ish) Cleaning

    November 22, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    After various friends having Facebook friend culls, I thought I’d do my own this week.

    Picture care of Doug Savage from over at www.savagechickens.comFor anyone who doesn’t know, you can end up with a lot of friends on Facebook. It starts off as one or two old school friends, the ones you used to share a desk with Then their school friends find you and add you, the ones who never really spoke to you. Then their school friends find you and add you, the ones that used to bully you. But you can’t say no – it’s impolite, isn’t it?
    Then there are the friends you used to see every weekend, ten years ago. The ones who, after an initial ‘So great to see you on here!”, forget to ever speak to you again.
    Not to mention the ones that drive you up the wall with their gullibility (“Facebook are going to start charging £3 a month – I’m not paying! Join this group if you agree”), copy and pastes (“Post this as your status, if you have someone keeping an eye on you from above”) and incessant shouting/use of text speak (XFACTOR 2MO NIGHT).

    And so I culled my friend list.
    My criteria? Those who I’d not communicated with (or visa versa) for over a year or made me want to punch them in the face. I figured I’d go down by about thirty or so. EIGHTY. Eighty people, gone. That’s one in five. And I shouldn’t think any of them will miss my updates.

    Me? It’s not made a huge impact on my feed, but there are less irritating posts and I see more of the people I frequently catch up with. People who weren’t kind to me at school have gone – I feel happier knowing that they don’t get to see my happiness now. And it’s refreshing to have done.

    So, does your friend list need to be so big?

    Picture care of Doug Savage from over at www.savagechickens.com


  3. Picturesque

    February 19, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    I’ve had a bit of a falling out with Facebook.

    First he took my apple, then my lunch money, then he said that even if I closed my account he’d still own all my images and information and he’d use it anyway he wanted forever. Then he pulled my hair and ran away.
    The teacher told him off and he took it back, but I don’t trust him anymore. So I’ve pulled off my information and pictures to keep them here instead where I have a little more control of things. He’s in detention until he gets his act together, so I have time to sort things out.

    That means there’s pretty pictures here! Not all of the ones I had on Facebook, but a few for now. Beware – my camera may well travel with me from here on in!