Timing out.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a quick visit to social media. Be it Facebook, Twitter, or whatever, it is never just a quick look, is it?

I can be busy with an online project, taking five to gather my thoughts and have a cuppa, figuring that I might spend a few minutes checking my Facebook pages and then get back to work with a fresh approach… And that would have to be the most ridiculous example of self deception there is,  because it is Never just a few minutes.

I know this for a fact because my last thingy of just a few minutes on Facebook turned into one hour and forty-five minutes! How could I have spend so much time checking my notifications, scrolling through my newsfeed, commenting and Liking/Loving/Caring/Wowing/Sad Facing/Angry Facing? Where did one whole hour and forty-five minutes go? It seemed like only two or three minutes ago I put the kettle on! What the hey?

And that’s what happens.  If time allegedly flies when you’re having fun, I must be having an absolute ball on Facebook! It doesn’t feel like I am in seventh heaven exactly, but I must be if that much time can elapse and I don’t even notice it.

I think it might be the scrolling. That newsfeed page seems to be never ending and it’s possible I become a little mesmerised by the constantly changing images and the need to see what the next one will be, and the next one and so on.  Plus all the news and shared posts from family and friends. They post a lot, they share a lot and I have to ensure I read the lot! And then comment and/or Love/Like/Care… etc, etc. It’s almost impossible to not respond in some way because I feel I am being remiss if I don’t. What if they think I missed it? Or worse, I saw it and I’m ignoring them? Okay, so chances are they wouldn’t think that at all, but you never know.

Thing is, I can be researching material, a lot of it, and making notes, editing things, cross referencing and writing and it can seem like I must have spent a   longer than one hour and forty-five minutes doing that but it’s actually only been forty minutes when I look at the clock.  Sure, I like what I do, and enjoy getting my teeth into a good lead, feature or news item, but I must love it to bits if I can get so much done in a shorter amount of time than I think I’ve spent on it. Either that, or I am a ridiculously fast worker.  Or it could be that when I’m onto something I can work through coffee breaks and meal times without really noticing. I’ve done that a few times.

So why does it take me so long to go through my social media pages and why does it feel like I’ve only been doing so for five minutes or something?  Maybe there’s subliminal text buried in the images that says “Don’t log out yet. You’ve only just got here.” and my brain says “Sure, no worries. I’m not going anywhere…”

Sounds feasible to me. As we are all aware weird stuff can happen online and maybe we’re all being quietly brainwashed into locking onto eternal loops of social media posts…and then we can’t unlock until acute hunger or a throbbing bladder snaps us out of it and we find it’s been, like, five hours! Well yes, I have to admit that sounds a bit too much like a conspiracy theory, and a silly one at that. As if that would really happen.

But on the other hand…