I read (ironically) on Facebook today, that checking Facebook is like checking the refrigerator. For those of you that know me rather well, you know that I check the refrigerator…
a lot.
About 3-5 times after dinner to be exact. Why? Despite the fact that I’m generally full by the time, I generally check to see if there is anything I’d like to eat. So that got me wondering, why exactly do I check my refrigerator so often?
I think what it comes down to is simply indecision. I can’t decide if I want more food or if I’m done, and so I’m hoping that each time I open the refrigerator, something might leap out at me and I’ll realize that I want to eat it. I’m indecisive about being full, because more food generally makes me happy. So if indecision about food is the source of my refrigerator problems, then how does this apply to Facebook?
When it comes to Facebook, it’s the same problem. We’re being indecisive at the moment we check Facebook. We’ve become fed up with whatever we’re doing at the moment: whether it be school work, a report, etc. In our moment of indecision about whether we want to continue working, we “open the refrigerator” and mindlessly check Facebook. The reason why Facebook becomes such a time suck and opening the refrigerator does not, is that with a refrigerator, you usually cave or decide you’re not hungry within a short period of time. With Facebook, or any part of the internet for that matter, it’s far too easy to get sucked in to everything that’s going on. Before you know it hours have passed and nothing has been accomplished.
That being said, the key to breaking this habit, or at least what I’m going to attempt to do, is to make opening the refrigerator door a tedious task. I want checking Facebook, or any similar website, to be on the top shelf, somewhere where I have to actively work to reach it. The extra work serves as a deterrent Apps like Self Control or Rescuetime both do the job. They make it impossible more difficult to access certain sites within a given time frame. In reality, it’s possible to disable both of these, but because it’s tedious it’ll curb my indecision and get me to finally just walk by the refrigerator without wondering if there’s anything new inside.