Wednesday January 4th 2012
Sleep - I can never get enough of it. It’s something that we all need and can’t function without. It takes up at least a third of our lives. It’s something that renders us unconscious and not in control of ourselves. We sleepwalk, we sleeptalk and we dream. We access a part of our brain where deep emotions, desires and thoughts run freely, and we unconsciously work through all the info we have inputted into our brains while we were awake. Sleep is time for our brains to organize themselves, storing what is necessary into long-term memory, accessing other sensations and visions that we could not possible do in our normal waking state. Sleep is a complex thing that most of us do not even understand fully. But what we do know for sure is that we enjoy it. We love to sleep, we wish we could sleep more. We wish we could sleep better.
Who hasn’t at least once in their lives wished that their alarm in the morning did not have to go off, or that they could go to bed when they are tired and wake when refreshed, without any interruption? That is unfortunately most of the time impossible. Our daily lives are governed by work, habits, family and lifestyle, and this is reflected in our sleep patterns, which also tend to revolve around all those things. We become a slave to being awake. I honestly envy the person who falls asleep as soon as they feel tired, and who can sleep deeply without waking, until their body naturally tells them that it is time to awaken. I think that someone is called a baby.
For me it is an entirely different story. I do get tired, as everyone does, but I force myself to stay awake. Why do I do it, I ask myself sometimes, but the answer is because I have not done everything thing I wanted to or needed to in that day and so I must stay up and finish. No matter how much I do, I still never finish, thus, the feeling of time never being enough overpowers my exhaustion and affects my sleeping habits. I stay up late, enjoying the silence of the night, the lack of distraction, the moments when time seems to slow down a little and I can concentrate and get some work done. Then suddenly I realize that it is very late and I start to panic. Oh no, I think to myself, not again! I feel bad that I have let myself down once again; my new year’s resolution to sleep earlier each night and wake up earlier each morning is unlikely to ever happen now! If only I did not need more than a few hours sleep a night. Why do I have to be the kind of person who needs their 9 hours? Imagine how much more I could achieve and get done if I could function on only 6 hours. Or 4? How do new mothers do it? What about that guy in the States who conducted an experiment on himself and forced himself into the habit of sleeping only for 15 minutes, every 4 hours, and never having a full night’s sleep. He managed to make it work for him – he learnt how to train his body to fall immediately into a deep sleep, and those 15 minutes every few hours were a good enough substitute for a full night’s rest. In fact, in the 2 years that this student did this, he managed to earn himself 2 degrees, and never miss a college party!
If I don’t get my 9 hours I feel shattered. If I wake up with not enough sleep, my body simply does not function. I start dropping things. I move in slow motion. I begin to shut down and get shaky. The next morning, no matter how late I sleep in, if I slept late the night before, I always feel tired. And since I never sleep early at night, I never seem to wake up rested. Maybe I don’t breathe deeply enough and don’t get enough oxygen in my sleep. (I must remember to put that plant in my bedroom during the day so it can emit oxygen). Or maybe the old wives’ tale that sleep before midnight is worth much more than sleep after midnight is actually true (I don’t remember the last time I slept before 12am). Either way, my mornings are usually uncomfortable - I wake up feeling groggy, sore and irritated. Instead of cherishing those moments when I allow myself to sleep in a little – snoozing is a guilty pleasure many will admit to being used to – I dread them, because it means I am only prolonging my suffering. I would prefer to just wake up later, rather than be awoken early and sleep back, knowing that I must go through the whole unpleasant experience of waking up all over again. But I wonder sometimes what it would be like if waking up was not like that. If it was a pleasant thing. I have heard of those people who say they jump up bright and early every morning with anticipation and glee at the wonderful day ahead of them, excited to get it started. Oh, how I wish I could feel like this. I dislike going to sleep and I dislike even more, waking up. That is why I post-pone both (I am not weird – people often put off facing unpleasant things!). Mornings for me are for dealing with annoying phone calls, emails, household chores, errands, shopping etc. Not things I like to do. So perhaps the clever thing would be to make sure I do things I love in the morning, like write and read and paint, so that I look forward to getting up. I love nighttime, because I can switch off, I don’t have to face the world if I don’t want to, or communicate with anyone. I can just sit home and work and relax and do the creative but productive things I enjoy. That is why I want to stay awake at night and not sleep. I have a brilliant idea…maybe I should sleep in the day and wake up at night! Don’t people get paid more for night shifts?
When I finally do get to bed at night, if I am not exhausted by the late hour – or rather early hour of the morning – then that is because I have “lost my sleep”. Yes, sleep is something that one can lose, unfortunately. When I was young I used to suffer from insomnia a lot. I would try and fall asleep and fail, then worry about not being able to sleep, or not getting enough sleep because I had to wake up in the morning, and that would make it even harder to sleep. Insomnia was tough – a horrible feeling – and the next day I was usually unable to function. It kept happening to me repeatedly and I never completely figured out why. Then one day it just stopped happening. But the tendency for it is still there, lurking deep down within me. I am scared of not being able to sleep. Or not sleeping well.
Nowadays I suffer from lack of good quality sleep, and because of that I am always tired, no matter how much sleep I get. I always want to sleep more, and usually I wake up because of other factors, like feeling stiff, or from lack of breath, or the most annoying of all, from some sort of external noise – primarily my neighbours. From construction, to dogs barking, to crows crowing outside my window, to garbage trucks roaring their engines, to cats’ mating calls, to the neighbours fighting, to children crying, to the man in his van yelling that he is selling potatoes and watermelons, to the tv of the next door neighbour blaring, or the music from the other neighbour pounding, or the scraping of the other neighbours’ chairs, clanging of kitchen pots, banging of cupboards or tapping of heels on the floor above or beneath me…. I am incessantly plagued my noise, and my sleep is completely disturbed by it, day in, day out. It would help a bit if I slept early like most people do and woke up early, but hey… I’m an artist, a writer, and you know that all artists get inspiration late at night! There are those other kinds of writers who don’t stay up writing into the wee hours, but wake up at the crack of dawn to work on their book – that is the kind of writer I aspire to be. The one I am right now though is the writer who is constantly tired, doesn’t get enough sleep and writes about it.
Tonight is the first time that I feel truly exhausted (perhaps from detoxing), and believe I could actually sleep early for a change. It is not even 9pm yet, but the idea of me falling asleep before midnight is actually so alien to me that it is a little scary. I think that if I dare to sleep so early, if I succeed in doing it, I will surely wake up at 4am and not have any more sleep. What on earth would I do at 4 in the morning, I worry? Well, silly me, the answer is: whatever it is I normally do at 4am, when I am still awake as I have not gone to bed yet!
I once went to a sleep clinic to have my sleep analyzed. They connected me up to a million tubes and wires, all over my head and body (I looked really scary when I saw a photo taken of me afterwards), and then monitored my sleep overnight. Thing is, I was stuck in a clinic, in a strange bed, and forced to sleep early. I mean that is so unrealistic for me, what did they expect? Of course I would not be able to sleep properly! What a waste of time. Perhaps I do have sleep apnea, perhaps I just make it difficult for myself by drinking caffeine late in the day, or too much water before I retire, or maybe I just think too much at night and over-stimulate my brain cells making it hard to relax and fall asleep, but whatever the case, the point is that there actually is an easy and quick solution to my sleep problem. I need to simply go to bed to sleep as soon as I feel tired, without worrying that I have more work to do or that I would miss out on something good, like a night out, or a film on television or reading a book I keep wanting to but never get round to doing. Instead I should just relax my body, meditate and stretch, and fall into a lovely slumber, not allowing myself to stress about the morning and what time I will wake up, and how many hours sleep I will get, and what I will have to do the next day, and what noise will awaken me! I just need to feel the enjoyment of being tucked up cosily in bed, and melt into my mattress and doze off happily and easily. What a guilty pleasure it may be to do that.The feeling would be similar to indulging myeslf in an afternoon nap, when I am sleepy but feel that I shouldn’t really take a break. Yes, I should, because my body is giving me a sign. I must take the sign and treat my body well, and when I show it the respect it deserves, then it will reward me with a deep and restful sleep, from which I will awaken refreshed.
Goodnight and sweet dreams!
AddThis
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
2012 MY DIARY - JAN 3 - walking
Tuesday January 3rd 2012
Walking helps cure a lot. It’s not just exercise for the body, but also for the mind. The repetitive motion of your legs, the sound of your feet as they hit the ground, the swish of your arms by your side as you move forward - all of this helps you focus on what you are actually doing, and forget what plagues you. By concentrating on the motion, you can empty your mind and thus rid yourself of your troubles, or at the very least ignore them for a while. The repetitive action of walking induces a form of light self-hypnosis, whereby the mind is triggered and the imagination soars. Thoughts are clearer in fresh air, and therefore solutions to problems are more easily found. Visions and memories appear sharper, dreams flood your brain, hope seems within reach. As you draw in the clean sea-side air, your lungs breathe in oxygen which stimulates the cerebral cortex which orders blood to flow faster around the body. The heart beats faster, as it also needs to pump extra blood to all the moving muscles, and not surprisingly, with a quickened pulse, you feel energized before you can feel any tiredness. As your heels draw soothing energy up into you from the ground beneath, you feel a sense of relaxation, and your emotions cool off as your body warms up. This allows you to think more sensibly, to feel more powerfully, and asses more accurately. Everything appears to work better, answers arrive without struggle, questions arise without warning, ideas flow freely. Everything seems to move with natural force, as we gather momentum.
The two legs we were born with were made for walking. We humans were destined to walk, and to move ahead, to be more exact. Walking is therefore a metaphor for life; as we take steps forward, we propel ourselves into the future, creating our own continuously changing destiny. With each stride, we change where we are, we change our point of view, and at any given moment - as long as we keep moving - we will find ourselves in a different place, and a different time.
Walking is essential, and keeps us in good health and even better spirits. Without regular walks, our bodies would not function properly. Our muscles would become atrophied and deteriorate, our bones would shrivel up and crack, our tendons would become weak and tear, and our internal organs would become blocked and inflammed. Our bodies would be clogged up and stiff, and circulation would be poor. We would be in pain, and unable to support ourselves on our very own two feet. We all know the expression “to stand on your own two feet” which means to be able to support yourself – not just physically but mentally i.e be independent. So, in a sense, standing or walking on your own feet, is a symbol of taking care of yourself and being your own boss, making decisions for yourself, taking charge of your life and making progress. That is how important walking actually is.
Walking with company is a way to share and can be fun when done with friends, and intimate when done with loved ones. Walking alone, however, is truly relaxing and a different experience altogether. When you put one foot in front of the other and take that stroll on your own, your isolation allows your senses to become fully aware, and you benefit from the walk the most. Alone you can notice everything: your attention is on the buildings and trees one minute, then on the sea and ground the next. You can see every detail of the world around you; you can watch people as they pass you by or sit around in cafes or on benches; you can absorb the most minute fluctuations in the waves, clouds and sky; you can distinguish each and every sound, from the bird cry to the engine humming of the car as it zooms by. And each time you walk alone, even if you are taking the same path, over and over again, you will notice something different, something amazing, fun, interesting, or new. You will experience the things you are familiar with too, and derive some sort of comfort from this. All in all, the promenade will be one full of experiences, full of life. Simply full.
So take that walk, empty yourself of your problems, so you can fill yourself up with that incredible feeling and all the benefits that you can only get when you walk.
Walking helps cure a lot. It’s not just exercise for the body, but also for the mind. The repetitive motion of your legs, the sound of your feet as they hit the ground, the swish of your arms by your side as you move forward - all of this helps you focus on what you are actually doing, and forget what plagues you. By concentrating on the motion, you can empty your mind and thus rid yourself of your troubles, or at the very least ignore them for a while. The repetitive action of walking induces a form of light self-hypnosis, whereby the mind is triggered and the imagination soars. Thoughts are clearer in fresh air, and therefore solutions to problems are more easily found. Visions and memories appear sharper, dreams flood your brain, hope seems within reach. As you draw in the clean sea-side air, your lungs breathe in oxygen which stimulates the cerebral cortex which orders blood to flow faster around the body. The heart beats faster, as it also needs to pump extra blood to all the moving muscles, and not surprisingly, with a quickened pulse, you feel energized before you can feel any tiredness. As your heels draw soothing energy up into you from the ground beneath, you feel a sense of relaxation, and your emotions cool off as your body warms up. This allows you to think more sensibly, to feel more powerfully, and asses more accurately. Everything appears to work better, answers arrive without struggle, questions arise without warning, ideas flow freely. Everything seems to move with natural force, as we gather momentum.
The two legs we were born with were made for walking. We humans were destined to walk, and to move ahead, to be more exact. Walking is therefore a metaphor for life; as we take steps forward, we propel ourselves into the future, creating our own continuously changing destiny. With each stride, we change where we are, we change our point of view, and at any given moment - as long as we keep moving - we will find ourselves in a different place, and a different time.
Walking is essential, and keeps us in good health and even better spirits. Without regular walks, our bodies would not function properly. Our muscles would become atrophied and deteriorate, our bones would shrivel up and crack, our tendons would become weak and tear, and our internal organs would become blocked and inflammed. Our bodies would be clogged up and stiff, and circulation would be poor. We would be in pain, and unable to support ourselves on our very own two feet. We all know the expression “to stand on your own two feet” which means to be able to support yourself – not just physically but mentally i.e be independent. So, in a sense, standing or walking on your own feet, is a symbol of taking care of yourself and being your own boss, making decisions for yourself, taking charge of your life and making progress. That is how important walking actually is.
Walking with company is a way to share and can be fun when done with friends, and intimate when done with loved ones. Walking alone, however, is truly relaxing and a different experience altogether. When you put one foot in front of the other and take that stroll on your own, your isolation allows your senses to become fully aware, and you benefit from the walk the most. Alone you can notice everything: your attention is on the buildings and trees one minute, then on the sea and ground the next. You can see every detail of the world around you; you can watch people as they pass you by or sit around in cafes or on benches; you can absorb the most minute fluctuations in the waves, clouds and sky; you can distinguish each and every sound, from the bird cry to the engine humming of the car as it zooms by. And each time you walk alone, even if you are taking the same path, over and over again, you will notice something different, something amazing, fun, interesting, or new. You will experience the things you are familiar with too, and derive some sort of comfort from this. All in all, the promenade will be one full of experiences, full of life. Simply full.
So take that walk, empty yourself of your problems, so you can fill yourself up with that incredible feeling and all the benefits that you can only get when you walk.
2012 MY DIARY - JAN 2 - emotional detoxing
Monday January 2nd 2012
Detoxing is hard. The hardest day is always the first, when the craving is strong, when habits are still so firmly imprinted in you that they seem impossible to change. Change is the ultimate goal, the biggest challenge to face, because detoxing is simply another way to change your life by ridding yourself of things you are normally used to which are not good for you.
A detox diet is hard enough when it comes to ridding the body of physical toxins – like sugar and alcohol, caffeine and nicotine - but even harder when attempting to rid it of emotional poisons. There are those people who we have grown accustomed to in our lives to whom we turn, speak or see regularly – but are they really good for us? Perhaps those people we have become somewhat attached to are actually hazardous to our emotional well-being. Maybe they throw stones at our spiritual walls and leave us with large gaping holes, or perhaps they abuse us in ways that are not obvious, silently chipping away at the paint, exposing the cement beneath, slowly picking at our emotional well-being, until there is nothing left. There is no denying that there exists such a thing as a poisonous relationship, and ridding your self of it will no doubt make you mentally healthier.
The first few days, weeks even, will be torture – there is no avoiding that. But what will keep you going is the knowledge deep down that it is for the best. After all, you would not be detoxing if you were not sure that all the suffering you will put yourself through will be worth it, that you will be better off at the end of the day. Deep down you know that you need to free yourself of the emotional and physical addictions in your life, so you can experience true freedom of body and mind, and thus true health and happiness.
How do you identify the toxic relationship, the person you need to detox from? They are the one who you turn to when you need something, but who don’t actually do you any good at the end of the day. Like a drink to an alcoholic, they are a shot of vodka when you feel reckless. Like a cigarette to a smoker, they are nicotine to calm you down, like sex to a sex addict, they give you a high when you feel low, like drugs to a drug addict, they provide a distraction from your own loneliness and depression, a boost when you feel down. But like all those things, they come with undesirable consequences too. Your obsessive compulsive behavior towards them is a clue that your involvement with them is toxic, and this is further confirmed by the withdrawal symptoms you experience when you are unable to speak/see/be with them. This person will have you in some sort of trap, a sort of endless cycle, and only with the detox can this destructive catch-22 end. Only when you have completely eliminated them from your life can you be independent and responsible for your own happiness. Only then do you have the power to control your life and steer it in the direction you wish.
Detoxing may be excruciating at times, but if you have tried it before and succeeded, you will know that it is worth it. That is works. Every detox is a little different depending on the object of elimination, but the test of endurance is always same. You will suffer, but feel better for it in the end. Whether it is food, drink or other substances, emptying or detaching your body from it all, will help cleanse your mind, and clearing your mind will in turn help purify your heart and soul. Finally, the decontamination of your heart, the distillation of your soul will help get rid of the hurt, pain, worry, angst, fear, anger and sadness that are clogging up your arteries and blocking your spiritual sensors. Only when you are entirely empty again, can you begin to fill yourself up with good, nutritious, consoling and healthy energy, be it in the form of physical or emotional sustenance.
Detoxing is hard, but necessary. Who wouldn’t want to better themselves, be happier and healthier? I don’t want to be attached or addicted, I don’t want to be a slave to anything or anyone… ever again. Which is why I choose to detox, now. I can envision myself lighter and feel myself freer already.
Detoxing is hard. The hardest day is always the first, when the craving is strong, when habits are still so firmly imprinted in you that they seem impossible to change. Change is the ultimate goal, the biggest challenge to face, because detoxing is simply another way to change your life by ridding yourself of things you are normally used to which are not good for you.
A detox diet is hard enough when it comes to ridding the body of physical toxins – like sugar and alcohol, caffeine and nicotine - but even harder when attempting to rid it of emotional poisons. There are those people who we have grown accustomed to in our lives to whom we turn, speak or see regularly – but are they really good for us? Perhaps those people we have become somewhat attached to are actually hazardous to our emotional well-being. Maybe they throw stones at our spiritual walls and leave us with large gaping holes, or perhaps they abuse us in ways that are not obvious, silently chipping away at the paint, exposing the cement beneath, slowly picking at our emotional well-being, until there is nothing left. There is no denying that there exists such a thing as a poisonous relationship, and ridding your self of it will no doubt make you mentally healthier.
The first few days, weeks even, will be torture – there is no avoiding that. But what will keep you going is the knowledge deep down that it is for the best. After all, you would not be detoxing if you were not sure that all the suffering you will put yourself through will be worth it, that you will be better off at the end of the day. Deep down you know that you need to free yourself of the emotional and physical addictions in your life, so you can experience true freedom of body and mind, and thus true health and happiness.
How do you identify the toxic relationship, the person you need to detox from? They are the one who you turn to when you need something, but who don’t actually do you any good at the end of the day. Like a drink to an alcoholic, they are a shot of vodka when you feel reckless. Like a cigarette to a smoker, they are nicotine to calm you down, like sex to a sex addict, they give you a high when you feel low, like drugs to a drug addict, they provide a distraction from your own loneliness and depression, a boost when you feel down. But like all those things, they come with undesirable consequences too. Your obsessive compulsive behavior towards them is a clue that your involvement with them is toxic, and this is further confirmed by the withdrawal symptoms you experience when you are unable to speak/see/be with them. This person will have you in some sort of trap, a sort of endless cycle, and only with the detox can this destructive catch-22 end. Only when you have completely eliminated them from your life can you be independent and responsible for your own happiness. Only then do you have the power to control your life and steer it in the direction you wish.
Detoxing may be excruciating at times, but if you have tried it before and succeeded, you will know that it is worth it. That is works. Every detox is a little different depending on the object of elimination, but the test of endurance is always same. You will suffer, but feel better for it in the end. Whether it is food, drink or other substances, emptying or detaching your body from it all, will help cleanse your mind, and clearing your mind will in turn help purify your heart and soul. Finally, the decontamination of your heart, the distillation of your soul will help get rid of the hurt, pain, worry, angst, fear, anger and sadness that are clogging up your arteries and blocking your spiritual sensors. Only when you are entirely empty again, can you begin to fill yourself up with good, nutritious, consoling and healthy energy, be it in the form of physical or emotional sustenance.
Detoxing is hard, but necessary. Who wouldn’t want to better themselves, be happier and healthier? I don’t want to be attached or addicted, I don’t want to be a slave to anything or anyone… ever again. Which is why I choose to detox, now. I can envision myself lighter and feel myself freer already.
Friday, 29 May 2009
LIVING - Confessions of a Recovering Facebook Addict...
“The site that took the world by storm” by Nathalie Kyrou
It has infected millions of people worldwide, spreading uncontrollably through nations faster than the latest pop hit, lasting longer than any seasonal fad. It has the power to bring people together, but also to threaten or destroy. To most of those who have experienced it, life has changed completely and will never be the same again. No, it is not a disease – it’s Facebook.
Facebook (FB) is not just a website; you could consider it a marriage of sorts, because once you’ve signed up, you are indeed committing yourself to a serious long-term relationship. Like wedlock, once you’ve joined, you are offering yourself up for better or worse. FB, like matrimony, can reunite long-lost lovers and bring people from all sorts of backgrounds and places together. Just like a wedding, it is a celebration of friends and family, a place where they can all get together to communicate.
FB is one of the fastest-growing and best-known sites on the internet today: a giant, virtual system of networking, with over 200 million active members today. This unique, cyber universe was launched in 2004 by Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, initially set up to cater exclusively to Harvard students. It was a huge hit within weeks, and soon all high school and college students were demanding access. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends to help build FB as we know it, and within four months, the site added 30 more college networks. Finally in September 2006, FB opened to anyone with an email address, taking the world by storm.
For those of you have not yet submitted yourselves to this ever-consuming site (if you exist), here is a brief summary of what it entails. Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances. You acquire friends by searching for, then adding them. Joining a network allows you to see what is going on in that location or group, and if you wish you can post up your status at any time to inform your friends of what you are up to. There is even a mini feed which automatically posts up the details of your activities. You can join groups of interest where you can mix and mingle with other non-friends, and you can also use FB to post up your own notes, posts, links and events. You also have the option to select a myriad of applications to add to your profile, each of which offers something different. And if you really want to waste time, Mob Wars seems to be a game played through FB which will do the trick (but that is where I draw the line). Finally, there is even a chat engine on the site which allows you to communicate live with other online users.
When I heard about FB for the first time, I had only just signed up with MySpace, and I was still a cyberspace novice trying to get the hang of the whole concept of presenting myself, all summed up neatly, on one page on the internet. After endless hours of trying to get my page personalised, I simply couldn’t face joining another site and going through it all over again. So, I resisted joining the online masses on FB. When I moved country, however, I finally – upon a lot of friends’ pleas – decided perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to give it a closer look. I was pleasantly surprised to find FB much simpler and more user friendly than MySpace. Because it did finally seem like a good way to stay in touch with my friends abroad, I gave in and joined. I never expected to get so hooked, so fast.
I am not the only one who found FB addictive. Laura, 21, from the U.K. who is currently working and living in Cyprus agrees. “I can’t get enough of it,” she tells me. “I use it to stay in touch with my friends back home, and to catch up with everyone else. It rules!” Riyaz, 29, who hails from Perth Australia but grew up in Cyprus, joined FB last year and is still an active member. “FB has stepped up the 'game' from its rival competitors, and has allowed me to communicate with so many people that I never expected to find again. It is also a great way to liaise with many of my close mates for going out, and I love the sharing of photos!” Nick, 34, from Nicosia, is also a FB fan. “I use it as a second email,” he says. In fact, many other people I spoke to over the summer on the island, admitted to checking their FB wall posts and messages even more often than their regular email accounts.
With people buying Blackberries and iphones like there is no tomorrow, and with wireless internet available these days for free from most coffee shops and venues, access to FB online is extremely easy. People that access it on their mobile devices are almost 50% more active on FB than non-mobile users. Needless to say, as a result, things can get borderline ridiculous at times with people checking what others are doing every second of the day, and changing their status with every action they take or place they go. In fact, more than 20 million users update their statuses at least once each day! It is an understatement to say that there is little privacy left. But is this such a bad thing, if people are aware of it and yet still choose to be part of it?
There has been enough hype about FB so far that people in general must surely be aware of its potential threat as an invasion of privacy. I myself have concerns about this issue, and have therefore added all sorts of limited restrictions to my profile, allowing only close friends full privileges. In case you are not aware, this kind of flexibility is available, as well as many other privacy options – all it takes is some patience to figure it all out. I am not one of those people who believe that FB is an undercover conspiracy by the FBI to gather info about the world’s population and compile an international database which will be used to our detriment, but I nevertheless have opted not to have my surname, date of birth or my phone number listed! And usually when I post up photos, I make sure not to tick the box that allows everyone to see the album...only friends (and sometimes, only certain friends). Putting people on ‘limited’ profile might be considered a form of discrimination, but it is a small price to pay for security and peace of mind.
In general, if you are on FB with good intentions, and you take care, you should be safe enough. Nevertheless, with something so phenomenally popular, it is natural that there would be some FB related crimes. Fraud experts say that the willingness of the younger generation to disclose personal data over the internet is a worrying trend. With millions of members allowing strangers access to their information, they are making themselves vulnerable to identity theft, giving cybercriminals all they need to create spoof identities, gain access to online accounts or infiltrate employers’ computer networks. On the other hand, the site itself can help stop crime too. For example, back in September 2007, using a FB profile, police arrested a suspect in an attack on the Georgetown University campus.
Although there are many ways to personalise and adapt FB to your liking, I was surprised by the number of people I’ve met who are still deterred by the whole experience. Jennifer, 29, from Limassol, has resisted joining so far. She is a little paranoid about the whole thing, but also feels a little left out because she is not in the system. “I think that I probably would get hooked on it if I joined, but as I have limited time due to my career, so I just cannot afford to take the chance of wasting my time on it.” Caroline, 32, a Lebanese living on the island, is currently considering canceling her membership with the site. “There is no more privacy left. If I don’t post up photos, someone else will, and I don’t like that. I also don’t go on the site as often as I did when I first joined last year.” Nita, 34, from Larnaca, found the whole FB experience so tiresome that she actually not only decided to officially leave FB, but also set up a group online, asking other like-minded people to join, so they can all leave FB at the same time – a sort of mass exodus. Angela, 31 is a lawyer who works in Nicosia, who has never been tempted to join. “I am quite a private person, so the idea of laying my life out there for everyone to see is not appealing. Nonetheless, the drawback of not being a member is that you miss being in the loop and knowing what’s going on in the social circuit.”
It seems that there is definitely a distinction between FB-lovers and FB-haters. FB virgins have no idea what they are missing or what they’d be getting themselves into if they joined, while current users cannot understand how one can live without it. Many others have a love-hate relationship with the site, but just cannot give it up.
For those who use it as a networking site, or to organise social events or catch up with friends and share photos, it can be a fun and useful online tool. But, if you overdo it within the first few weeks of joining, or expect too much from it (online dating comes to mind), or conversely, if you’re not curious enough and never make the effort to investigate what the site can offer, then you may just get bored sooner or later. On the other hand, the ‘collection’ of friends can end up being, for some, a little obsessive, and your addiction can grow. It is, after all, for many, one huge popularity contest. This one guy I know has over a thousand friends (is it even possible to know so many people?), and on the other extreme, I have discovered people who have less than twenty (perhaps they just joined out of curiosity, or maybe they are simply being realistic). Nevertheless, the average user has 120 friends on the site (source: facebook – press room statistics).
No matter how many friends one has, however, FB users’ passion - or addiction - to the site is unparalleled. More than 3.5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide). FB currently ranks 4th on the top site listed on Alexa.com and has also taken the lead in the top photo sharing market worldwide, even above Flickr. It continues to grow in popularity internationally, making major headlines across the world. Its growth in 2007 was staggering: over 1 million new users signed up every week – that is 200,000 daily, with the site receiving 40 billion page views a month! FB is not limited to youth either; long gone are the days of using it as a social network for college students. The fastest growing demographic now is those aged 35 years old and older.
Cypriots, nationwide, have recently caught on and are now joining the rest of the world in this FB frenzy. It’s not hard to get hooked - no matter where you hail from, nor what language you speak - as FB is a simple enough idea: basically your face on a page. With each page belonging to a different friend, the site is like an endless book, which can be read and re-read. It is the overall simplicity of it all, as well as the fact that FB has distinguished itself from rivals like the larger MySpace by imposing a spartan design ethos and limiting how users can change the appearance of their profile pages, that makes FB so easy to remember, as well as user-friendly for all races and ages.
With all this hype surrounding it, could it be that FB has already reached its peak and that people will soon move on to something new? FB creators already thought of this, when they introduced the ‘New Facebook’, but perhaps an even newer version is just round the corner. And now, with onsite advertising, FB is being used as a marketing tool more often. In fact, it was reported that MI6, the U.K’s Secret Intelligence Service, was using the social networking site to recruit the next generation of spies! Also, there was a mention last year of plans for FB, the movie. And if you ever go out, you would know that the most common chat-up line still remains: “Are you on FB?”
So, has FB had its day? Eh...I’ll let you know in a minute – I just have to update my status.
Nathalie Kyrou © 2009. All rights reserved to the author.
It has infected millions of people worldwide, spreading uncontrollably through nations faster than the latest pop hit, lasting longer than any seasonal fad. It has the power to bring people together, but also to threaten or destroy. To most of those who have experienced it, life has changed completely and will never be the same again. No, it is not a disease – it’s Facebook.
Facebook (FB) is not just a website; you could consider it a marriage of sorts, because once you’ve signed up, you are indeed committing yourself to a serious long-term relationship. Like wedlock, once you’ve joined, you are offering yourself up for better or worse. FB, like matrimony, can reunite long-lost lovers and bring people from all sorts of backgrounds and places together. Just like a wedding, it is a celebration of friends and family, a place where they can all get together to communicate.
FB is one of the fastest-growing and best-known sites on the internet today: a giant, virtual system of networking, with over 200 million active members today. This unique, cyber universe was launched in 2004 by Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, initially set up to cater exclusively to Harvard students. It was a huge hit within weeks, and soon all high school and college students were demanding access. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends to help build FB as we know it, and within four months, the site added 30 more college networks. Finally in September 2006, FB opened to anyone with an email address, taking the world by storm.
For those of you have not yet submitted yourselves to this ever-consuming site (if you exist), here is a brief summary of what it entails. Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances. You acquire friends by searching for, then adding them. Joining a network allows you to see what is going on in that location or group, and if you wish you can post up your status at any time to inform your friends of what you are up to. There is even a mini feed which automatically posts up the details of your activities. You can join groups of interest where you can mix and mingle with other non-friends, and you can also use FB to post up your own notes, posts, links and events. You also have the option to select a myriad of applications to add to your profile, each of which offers something different. And if you really want to waste time, Mob Wars seems to be a game played through FB which will do the trick (but that is where I draw the line). Finally, there is even a chat engine on the site which allows you to communicate live with other online users.
When I heard about FB for the first time, I had only just signed up with MySpace, and I was still a cyberspace novice trying to get the hang of the whole concept of presenting myself, all summed up neatly, on one page on the internet. After endless hours of trying to get my page personalised, I simply couldn’t face joining another site and going through it all over again. So, I resisted joining the online masses on FB. When I moved country, however, I finally – upon a lot of friends’ pleas – decided perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to give it a closer look. I was pleasantly surprised to find FB much simpler and more user friendly than MySpace. Because it did finally seem like a good way to stay in touch with my friends abroad, I gave in and joined. I never expected to get so hooked, so fast.
I am not the only one who found FB addictive. Laura, 21, from the U.K. who is currently working and living in Cyprus agrees. “I can’t get enough of it,” she tells me. “I use it to stay in touch with my friends back home, and to catch up with everyone else. It rules!” Riyaz, 29, who hails from Perth Australia but grew up in Cyprus, joined FB last year and is still an active member. “FB has stepped up the 'game' from its rival competitors, and has allowed me to communicate with so many people that I never expected to find again. It is also a great way to liaise with many of my close mates for going out, and I love the sharing of photos!” Nick, 34, from Nicosia, is also a FB fan. “I use it as a second email,” he says. In fact, many other people I spoke to over the summer on the island, admitted to checking their FB wall posts and messages even more often than their regular email accounts.
With people buying Blackberries and iphones like there is no tomorrow, and with wireless internet available these days for free from most coffee shops and venues, access to FB online is extremely easy. People that access it on their mobile devices are almost 50% more active on FB than non-mobile users. Needless to say, as a result, things can get borderline ridiculous at times with people checking what others are doing every second of the day, and changing their status with every action they take or place they go. In fact, more than 20 million users update their statuses at least once each day! It is an understatement to say that there is little privacy left. But is this such a bad thing, if people are aware of it and yet still choose to be part of it?
There has been enough hype about FB so far that people in general must surely be aware of its potential threat as an invasion of privacy. I myself have concerns about this issue, and have therefore added all sorts of limited restrictions to my profile, allowing only close friends full privileges. In case you are not aware, this kind of flexibility is available, as well as many other privacy options – all it takes is some patience to figure it all out. I am not one of those people who believe that FB is an undercover conspiracy by the FBI to gather info about the world’s population and compile an international database which will be used to our detriment, but I nevertheless have opted not to have my surname, date of birth or my phone number listed! And usually when I post up photos, I make sure not to tick the box that allows everyone to see the album...only friends (and sometimes, only certain friends). Putting people on ‘limited’ profile might be considered a form of discrimination, but it is a small price to pay for security and peace of mind.
In general, if you are on FB with good intentions, and you take care, you should be safe enough. Nevertheless, with something so phenomenally popular, it is natural that there would be some FB related crimes. Fraud experts say that the willingness of the younger generation to disclose personal data over the internet is a worrying trend. With millions of members allowing strangers access to their information, they are making themselves vulnerable to identity theft, giving cybercriminals all they need to create spoof identities, gain access to online accounts or infiltrate employers’ computer networks. On the other hand, the site itself can help stop crime too. For example, back in September 2007, using a FB profile, police arrested a suspect in an attack on the Georgetown University campus.
Although there are many ways to personalise and adapt FB to your liking, I was surprised by the number of people I’ve met who are still deterred by the whole experience. Jennifer, 29, from Limassol, has resisted joining so far. She is a little paranoid about the whole thing, but also feels a little left out because she is not in the system. “I think that I probably would get hooked on it if I joined, but as I have limited time due to my career, so I just cannot afford to take the chance of wasting my time on it.” Caroline, 32, a Lebanese living on the island, is currently considering canceling her membership with the site. “There is no more privacy left. If I don’t post up photos, someone else will, and I don’t like that. I also don’t go on the site as often as I did when I first joined last year.” Nita, 34, from Larnaca, found the whole FB experience so tiresome that she actually not only decided to officially leave FB, but also set up a group online, asking other like-minded people to join, so they can all leave FB at the same time – a sort of mass exodus. Angela, 31 is a lawyer who works in Nicosia, who has never been tempted to join. “I am quite a private person, so the idea of laying my life out there for everyone to see is not appealing. Nonetheless, the drawback of not being a member is that you miss being in the loop and knowing what’s going on in the social circuit.”
It seems that there is definitely a distinction between FB-lovers and FB-haters. FB virgins have no idea what they are missing or what they’d be getting themselves into if they joined, while current users cannot understand how one can live without it. Many others have a love-hate relationship with the site, but just cannot give it up.
For those who use it as a networking site, or to organise social events or catch up with friends and share photos, it can be a fun and useful online tool. But, if you overdo it within the first few weeks of joining, or expect too much from it (online dating comes to mind), or conversely, if you’re not curious enough and never make the effort to investigate what the site can offer, then you may just get bored sooner or later. On the other hand, the ‘collection’ of friends can end up being, for some, a little obsessive, and your addiction can grow. It is, after all, for many, one huge popularity contest. This one guy I know has over a thousand friends (is it even possible to know so many people?), and on the other extreme, I have discovered people who have less than twenty (perhaps they just joined out of curiosity, or maybe they are simply being realistic). Nevertheless, the average user has 120 friends on the site (source: facebook – press room statistics).
No matter how many friends one has, however, FB users’ passion - or addiction - to the site is unparalleled. More than 3.5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide). FB currently ranks 4th on the top site listed on Alexa.com and has also taken the lead in the top photo sharing market worldwide, even above Flickr. It continues to grow in popularity internationally, making major headlines across the world. Its growth in 2007 was staggering: over 1 million new users signed up every week – that is 200,000 daily, with the site receiving 40 billion page views a month! FB is not limited to youth either; long gone are the days of using it as a social network for college students. The fastest growing demographic now is those aged 35 years old and older.
Cypriots, nationwide, have recently caught on and are now joining the rest of the world in this FB frenzy. It’s not hard to get hooked - no matter where you hail from, nor what language you speak - as FB is a simple enough idea: basically your face on a page. With each page belonging to a different friend, the site is like an endless book, which can be read and re-read. It is the overall simplicity of it all, as well as the fact that FB has distinguished itself from rivals like the larger MySpace by imposing a spartan design ethos and limiting how users can change the appearance of their profile pages, that makes FB so easy to remember, as well as user-friendly for all races and ages.
With all this hype surrounding it, could it be that FB has already reached its peak and that people will soon move on to something new? FB creators already thought of this, when they introduced the ‘New Facebook’, but perhaps an even newer version is just round the corner. And now, with onsite advertising, FB is being used as a marketing tool more often. In fact, it was reported that MI6, the U.K’s Secret Intelligence Service, was using the social networking site to recruit the next generation of spies! Also, there was a mention last year of plans for FB, the movie. And if you ever go out, you would know that the most common chat-up line still remains: “Are you on FB?”
So, has FB had its day? Eh...I’ll let you know in a minute – I just have to update my status.
Nathalie Kyrou © 2009. All rights reserved to the author.
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