Detoxing from Facebook = Increased Creativity

Art_Rabbit · #1 07-30-2012, 06:16 PM

At least that is my experience. Your mileage may vary. But I'd enjoy hearing from anyone who's tried it and if you also felt freer and more creative.

I had come to realize that Facebook was draining my emotions (due to controversy potential of the Big 3 - Religion, Sex, and Politics). Then there was the time-wasting (I must hurry and post this funny quote on my page so all my friends can see it - as if it's going to matter a few days, weeks, months from now).

The decision was something I'd thought of on occasion in the past when I'd get fed up but I guess I was still new enough to FB that I still kept giving it another chance. It was like Mr. Right Now vs. Mr. Right!

Well, at any rate, the honeymoon has drawn to a close, and the decision to pull away only took 2-3 days. So I guess I was ready. To continue the relationship metaphor, I guess it's a separation, not a complete divorce; I didn't deactivate the account. But I'm definitely going to take a long, long break, and IF I return to it there will be boundaries I will set for myself.

Right now, though, I'm savoring the uptick in energy, creativity, and freedom from drama. Lovin' it!

claude j greengrass · #2 07-31-2012, 11:03 AM

...consider...

fritzie · #3 07-31-2012, 05:17 PM

I have never participated in FB or Google +, but I was for over a year part of a much smaller social network. While ostensibly a place to discuss creativity and challenges in the creative life as well as to share work, in fact it was like a big blender. No matter what people put in in the way of thoughts, the same dogma came out. An image of stagnant water comes into my mind. No growth.

As there were also services for sale through the site, which was, after all, a commercial venture to produce a customer base, there was a great channeling of participants toward a perception of continuing need for the services for sale (to break creative blocks and so forth).

I got so frustrated with the narrow-minded nature of the place, but I kept thinking with effort I could help "open it up" somehow.

Finally, I gave up on it a couple of months ago and have invested myself only in actually creative, open-minded, open-spirited "growing" places.

It's like breaking out of jail and running free through riotous vegetation.

**La_** · #4 08-01-2012, 01:34 PM

facebook isn't too bad for distraction, i don't get sucked in too deep

i've developed a love/hate relationship with other parts of the internet in general, the vast information highway is an unending ride if one wants to stay on ... and on ... and on

i gave up television a few years ago ... mind-rot that ... i don't miss it at all except for the occasional 'feel like an idiot' for not knowing anything about shows/movies that people talk about ... course i never have been one to find enjoyments in discussing the make believe world of make believe lives. the real world has all the drama/soap opera/action and creative stimulus i seem to require.

and on that note, getting OFF the internet now to go experience some of that real live living stuff = )

la

LMWilliams · #5 08-01-2012, 01:36 PM

I joined FB and left within 6 months as I noticed not just the sudden drop in my productivity but I also found myself getting angry and depressed. I'm not sure if it's social networking I don't like or just the people who use social networking. Either way it wound me up. I've kept my channels open but purely for professional reasons ie I'll update with exhibition news etc for anyone who prefers to follow me via those networks but I just can't use it as a form of recreation. I much prefer blogging/forums.

Magical_Realist · #6 08-03-2012, 03:56 AM

I've always kept my Facebook friends list very small and carefully selected, precisely so I don't end up ensnared by drama and debate. I also have all the privacy settings at their most restrictive, so I don't get "drive-by" comments. I spend maybe 10 minutes a day on FB; rarely more.

What used to be a dreadful time-sink for me was LiveJournal, especially back when I was an active fan of a book series. Fandom tends to breed all kinds of craziness and drama, and while it gave me a pleasurable escape during a rough patch in my life I ended up sticking around far too long. I wasted an awful lot of time talking and speculating and arguing over someone else's creative works (and the nutty behavior of my fellow fans), rather than making my own art.

But even as I finally pulled away, I had to admit to myself that I was sort of addicted to all the drama, gossip, and arguments. Even when it angered me, I got a charge out of it. And it wasn't until I really looked at that part of myself--the part that fed off the craziness, and kept going back for more despite knowing it was a waste of time--and dealt with it, that I was able to permanently make the break. Because before fandom on LJ there were other debate forums, and before that there was Usenet; I had a habit of pulling away from one drama-laden Internet time-waster, only to drift into another (especially when I was having a difficult time of it in my offline life).

One of my markers that I'm getting too wrapped up on the Internet again is realizing that I'm still thinking about an Internet argument when I'm offline. When I'm offline, I'd rather be thinking about things and people that I deal with in meatspace--not people, groups, or drama on the Internet. So when there's significant spillover from my Internet life to my real life, that's my signal to pull back, let a debate die, leave a forum for a while, or even stay offline entirely for a few days.

I gave up television a long time ago, and that was one of the smarter things I've done (for a host of reasons, not just because it was killing my art). Quitting the Internet's not so easy. For me, it's an ongoing, low-level battle to keep it from sucking up any spare time I might have--time that would be better spent making art. Lately, I've been keeping the Internet in its place pretty well, without much effort. But it does creep up on me, especially when I'm bored or frustrated with a piece, or if I start feeling insecure about it and wonder if my great idea was so great after all. If I don't stay tuned into how I'm feeling so I can recognize that negativity as it's creeping in, I can easily end up online, seeking out new drama again.

Carcharhinus · #7 08-03-2012, 08:37 AM

Humans are pack animals. The reason that facebook is so appealing in this way is that it offers the social elements of being a human being that we instinctively crave 24 hours a day.

If you're feeling lonely, even if you're not actually lonely in the depressed sense of the word, you can go on facebook and get the social interaction fix that you crave.

The problem is that it is only the illusion of social interaction. You get the pithy, meaningless conversation that makes it seem like you're interacting without the physical interaction. Touching, talking, smells etc. That's why some people find that it affects their state of mind. Their mind feels like they've got a social 'fix' for a short time, but they haven't really and they're still craving it.

That said, there's nothing exclusive to facebook that kills creativity. It's the same kind of procrastination that's found in a million other things. Facebook is just the thing that people blame at the moment because it's so popular. Before that it was video games, before that rock and roll music, before that TV and before TV it was movies. They're all fine in moderation and can be used for great things, but if you're using them so much that you're neglecting important things then you need to snap out of it.

Viking55803 · #8 08-03-2012, 06:57 PM

It seems a bit disingenuous to be discussing Facebook on a forum, but it is a worthy discussion. I have not looked at Facebook for over 2 years, and have been limiting my time on the internet in general. For an endlessly curious sort like me, there really is no end to the time I could spend hopping around the World Wide Web. I've been an internet user since it was strictly text and punched cards were still being fed into giant card readers.

Last fall I spend a wonderful week entirely alone and without TV, internet, radio, or cell phone...but you will have to pry my Kindle from my cold, dead hand. I experienced a couple of days of withdrawal symptoms, and then it was a form of bliss.

brusher · #9 08-04-2012, 10:06 AM

I left Facebook a week ago, after being on it for 2 years. During that time I lost interest in painting, art books, museums, etc. and just about everything else that I used to love and enjoy so much - nothing was as much fun or was as stimulating as looking at FB several times a day, reading and posting, and checking the responses, and replying. I tried to limit my time to a few min. a day, see FB only on weekends, etc., but I found I was measuring my life by the length of time I had successfully "stayed off FB". I am still going through withdrawal and feel very sad, and miss all my dear FB friends (almost all of whom I have never met). You are right, though, the conversations are endless and (I would say) not very deep, but emotions run quite high, no matter even on trivial topics that don't merit much discussion. I am back on WetCanvas after a 2-year absence, and would say that at least here everyone is "talking about something," and it is productive. I'm back to painting each night; I am in mourning for FB (!), but it was time to pull the plug - not just take a vacation - but quit permanently. It was actually kind of a dopey drug, and it's very tempting to be active on FB - It seems though, that although you can be defined by what you "like", more importantly than that, you must be defined by what you "do". I would like to get back to "doing" on a daily basis, like I used to. I read several articles online about "Facebook addiction", and sadly, and scarily, several of the points listed described my experience. I realize that as time passes, things will look better and I can be able to function better as an artist (meaning do something - anything). Putting in the time painting at night is a good start.

olive oyl · #10 08-05-2012, 03:31 PM

Yeah, FB is a funny thing.

I joined in 2007 and used a puppet head from one of my paintings. Jerry Mahoney had a plastered-on, demented and perpetual smile and somehow I felt that was going to be an appropriate FB look. Figuring out just how to do THAT took me about 20 minutes and for the next two weeks, I never logged back on. Then, when FB "notified" me that somebody wanted to be my friend, it seemed sort of big brother-ish and freaky and so I accepted (to not hurt feelings) but then immediately deleted myself so I wouldn't have to deal with ANY of it. Never gave it another thought for the following two years.

Then, my sister and her husband joined and since they're computer people, I figured they could tell me how to use it. That's when I realized I hadn't deleted myself, I was only deactivated, and so, there sat my one ignored and forlorn friend. Next, I wondered what you're supposed to actually DO with it (being antisocial, old and technologically retarded), so we thought "hey! let's look for long-lost cousins!" That was fun until I had to block one because he sounded like some extreme right-wing vigilante, calling me a commie liberal and blaming me for ruining the planet. He scared me. Hooray for family.

So now...I've found the people I've wanted to and I like knowing where the scattered "people pieces" of my past are. (I moved around a lot). I ignore those that I don't have much of a connection to, or co-workers, or moms in town (my dumb rules), so my friend count is low. I don't share pictures of food on my plate and I don't let everyone know every single frigging thing I do all day long. I think maybe I've finally gotten the hang of it and spend about 15 minutes a week on it. Like WC, its just a fun little time waster - like watching TV, or flipping through a magazine. For me, it has absolutely no impact on my creativity, since I use it at work mostly. It actually spices up my already non-creative jail cell work time.

But sometimes, I DO like to just stare and not think about much - to be as dumb and still as a rock.
There’s something to be said for having mindless distractions...

ryansumo · #11 08-09-2012, 10:43 PM

I've turned off all of my facebook notifications. When I did it a few months ago, my productivity soared. I have a a more balanced facebook/internet/work time balance now, but every now and then I do have to forcibly click the close button on my browser and get back to work, just because it's so enticing to lose yourself in it.

ARCross · #12 08-10-2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by claude j greengrass

...consider...

I like this! Sharing it on facebook in 3...2...1...

darkwolf29 · #13 08-15-2012, 09:30 AM

I am still on Facebook, but much less now than I was 6 months ago. 6 months ago, I was still in art school. I worked my butt off doing 2 to 3 projects a week. It's been that way since 2008. Then, I graduated in April. I noticed that I used Facebook as an excuse not to do stuff. So, I've stopped playing games on Facebook. Those are the time sinks!!!

I use it, now, to keep up with my family and friends. So...I'm not on there for hours anymore, just minutes. Every once in awhile I still find game people in my friend's list...they get removed now. LOL

But, I do also follow a bunch of artists and have a bunch of friends from school on there. So...I get some good inspiration!!

RobinZ · #14 08-15-2012, 04:01 PM

I get a lot of commissions from Facebook, both the business and personal page.

Not pulling the plug on it any time soon!

BluZebra5510 · #15 08-15-2012, 08:01 PM

I started using FB because so many companies and organizations started posting their information there. It is like a one-stop-shop when you are looking for updates. It really does save time when you have a lot of individual sites to check.

Then I got sucked into the funny, cute and clever sayings and pictures, and I just had to share.

Then the decline. People started getting silly. They posted 15+ times per day. "This is a picture of my lunch." "This is the shop where I bought my lunch." "This is the guy I bought my lunch from." "Here is the desk where I eat my lunch." "Here is the floor where I dropped my lunch." Followed by dozens of comments like, "yum" "LOL" "cool" "yuk" and "Don't you think Justin Beeber is cute?"

I started blocking people. Then I realized that if I were not on FB the silly people could post all they wanted and I would neither know nor care.

I stayed away for a week and a half and didn't miss it. Now, I am back but only to check the organizations and businesses to see what is going on with them.

Salute to our Partners