Hyperconnectedness

I came across this phrase when I busy browsing through a magazine while I was getting my toe nails done. It was an article about the founder of Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington who mentioned how she changed her life for the better when she faced the demon called hyperconnectedness in her life.

Obviously it made me reflect on my own habits. I have a Facebook and Instagram account as well as numerous WatsApp groups which I check countless times throughout the day. And I am a Google-holic.

I am a self proclaimed Facebook addict. There was once I came across a link in FB which said something along the lines of 'the dangers of checking FB updates frequently' understandably, I did not open the link. I check for updates on what's going on in my friends' and family's lives, the healthy recipes for my baby (of which I have not tried out at all, OK maybe only one) and also news updates (I don't read the newspapers except for Saturday's) I don't post comments or statuses often but when I do, I am always checking if someone had commented or even liked it. The other day, I said something about tattoos and got upset that my husband did not comment at all (still am) Before you think I have gone deranged, kindly allow me to outline how FB has 'made' me a better person:

1. I always know what people (that matter to me) are up to so I can provide prompt information when others enquire about their whereabouts (I refuse to admit I am a busybody)
2. I have learned how to be sassy thanks to Aunty Acid (I love her!) and Queen of Sass
3. I have learned how to crack some laughable jokes thanks to Humor meets Comics (you guys have to add it in your FB)
4. I have learned how to 'extend' my research based on information shared in FB such as 'Did you know?' and all the parenting and baby related posts
5. I share and practice the affirmative postings
6. I read up about Famous people and easy to apply techniques 'like how to be successful' thanks to Robin Sharma

So you see, there is a whole lot of great things in FB that you can read, watch and rejoice over. Social media is the in thing now so how can I be left behind? I spent a good 2 hours daily checking my FB and about 30 minutes on Instagram and ALWAYS checking my WatsApp messages. I have been toying with the idea of a Twitter account but I have to deal with some time management issues here before I sign up for one. I feel so'connected' to these that sometimes I feel like I am not doing enough! OK you can officially call me cuckoo now.

I am on my smart phone when I pat my baby to sleep (she sleeps face down so I don't feel guilty of not paying attention when I pat her to sleep, like seriously?!), when I watch TV (because I need to know the ending of the movie before it actually ends and also the biographies of the cast members),when I eat alone (I don't want to be alone with my thoughts!) when I am in the car (between giving monosyllabic responses to husband and singing rhymes to Pebbles) and when my brains are not stimulated like boring conversations (which is utterly rude, I know)

I realize it is a bad thing but I just can't help it. Pebbles is at the exploring stage now and she can 'outcrawl' me anytime. She is constantly on her knees and hands and there was one time when her mother was checking FB updates for the 5th time (it was 11am, ladies & gentlemen) she threw the remote control on the floor to pop the batteries out. When I looked up at her, she had two red AAA batteries in her mouth!!!! Thank god I caught her on time! I still cringe when I think what could have happened if I didn't (Bad mother!)

Sometimes I can't sleep at night wondering why no one had responded to my WatsApp messages when I do that promptly (pathetic, huh?) The last thing I do at night and the first thing I do in the following morning is to check my smart phone for FB updates and WatsApp messages as well as Instagram posts (do you guys have 9Gag? They are hilarious!)

Sometimes to 'combat' this problem, I give myself 'challenges' like not checking FB for the whole day (I would then deliberately stay up till midnight to check it.Shameless, I know) or switch off my data plan for the whole day and I will go through the whole day like a druggie with severe withdrawal symptoms.

So yeah, I am still struggling to deal with hyperconnectedness to have a better quality of life. Basically, I want to be 'present' in all situations and live each second of the day without thinking 'who has uploaded what' in FB,Instagram or WatsApp. Tough but I am working on it, how about you?

I am off to play with Pebbles now (ok after I share this entry in FB) 

Image from Google

This is soooo Me!