Friday, March 10, 2017

Addicted to Facebook

RHYS BOWEN: Like most writers I will do anything, yes anything, to avoid writing. I will stare at the computer, get up, throw a load in the laundry, dead head the flowers, dust the ornaments, make out to-do lists for the next three months, rather than get down to the scene I’m supposed to be finishing.
And one of the things I do lately is to check out Facebook. I try to avoid the political stuff; it makes me too depressed and it’s hard to tell the fake news. But I’m a sucker for the baby animals, the cute animal friendships. Who knew what noises a baby sloth makes? And when I found out it was really “Oh, is that all?”
But the quizzes. What color is your aura? What were you in a past life? I am especially tempted by the ones that start “Only a genius can get all these right.”
Of course I get them all right. They were easy.
And it turns out there is a reason they were easy… quizzes are a way of hacking into accounts.
Who knew? Does that mean I won’t be able to find out what career is right for me? What sign my ideal mate should be? Does that mean I’ll actually have to sit down and write all day?
So fellow Reds: who else does Facebook quizzes?
And what else do you do to keep you from sitting on a chair and getting on with your writing?

HALLIE EPHRON: The other day I sorted through a 2-foot-high stack of mail accumulated over several years, just to avoid writing. I never do quizzes, but I still love to hang out in Facebook and see what my kids/friends are up to. And I'm sadly addicted to newsfeeds because how much more bizarre can things get?

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm surprised to hear you are a procrastinator, Rhys--as much as you produce! And Hallie, that two foot pile of mail sounds positively awful. I know we will have that in Connecticut waiting for us in April. But meanwhile, it's all about the Facebook addiction for me. I love catching up with friends and fans--and I know I miss 90% of what's been posted. I also like to peruse Pinterest, mostly for recipes to try. And this mostly happens at night when I'm hungry. So if you see a flurry of pins from me, you'll know exactly what's going on!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm seldom on Facebook, which frustrates my friends and family members who use it regularly. What I do to keep from writing? Clean, of course. It's amazing how compelling the dusting can become when you can't think of how to continue a scene. The laundry. Walking the dog. Driving Youngest to school/play rehearsal/archery/mosque/pizza place. To tell the truth, it's not so much that I do things to avoid writing: it's that I have so much to do I have to MAKE time to write. Which, again, is very easy to avoid...

I want to hear more about the quizzes as hacker tools, Rhys. I don't take them, but The Smithie is addicted to the ones on Buzzfeed. Does it matter where you find them? Or all they all suspect?

RHYS: Julia it was on the news this week that Facebook quizzes have become an easy way to hack into accounts, get personal information. I have to say I don't do any quizzes that want my email address or anything else personal about me, but I suppose if they can get into my Facebook account they could find quite a lot.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I don't do quizzes, Rhys, I'm not even tempted, so I guess I'm safe there. But I do procrastinate!! I am way too addicted to news these days, so am planning a "news diet." And I check on Facebook, and make lists, and look at recipes, and clean. To my credit, I've managed to resist daytime televsion, but why is it so hard for writers to sit down and WRITE????

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I love quizzes, and am  tempted to do all of them. But not after I saw they get your email and contacts list. So--I don't.  Daytime TV, never. Laundry! Closet organization! Cleaning the refrigerator. Stuff I would NEVER otherwise be interested in doing suddenly becomes a necessity.  But just in the past few days, I've been intensely wanting to write. I mean, I can't wait. So weird! And I'm sure that will pass.  But usually I am so easily distracted that I literally set a timer, and agree with myself not to do anything else--, not email,  not Facebook, not getting a diet coke, not anything--until I do my hour. Works for me. And I'm not as addicted to Facebook as I used to be. We should talk about that sometime.

INGRID THOFT: I've never done the quizzes, probably because having a software developer husband has caused me to be highly skeptical about such things.  I do peruse Facebook more than I should, and I also find that household chores call my name when the going gets tough on the writing front.  One of my favorite forms of procrastination is reading the articles on longform.org.  It's an aggregation of the best long form articles on the web, and the content is terrific.  I tell myself this form of procrastination isn't so terrible; I'm learning all kinds of things and even possibly doing research!  And Rhys, I'm a total sucker for baby animals.  Seriously, nothing makes me happier than a picture of a tea cup pig in a tea cup!

JENN: Quiz girl here! It started with the Cosmo quizzes when I was a teen and I'm still an addict. How else can I find out which  Greek goddess I am or who my celebrity husband is? LOL. I am less of an FB addict than I used to be - politics has curbed it for me. Because I have multiple deadlines and I do get sucked into the Internet wormhole, I had to install a babysitter on my Mac Book called Waste No Time. I set how many minutes I'm allowed on certain sites and then it blocks them. Period. Because my life is like Julia's - so many gigs of the Hub and the hooligans to coordinate - making the time to write is critical to getting it done. But, like Ingrid and Rhys, I'm a sucker for the cute animals pics. How can you resist a duckling in a raincoat?

RHYS: Waste No Time. Jenn, I am getting it today! I could live with just one baby animal a day, I am sure.
So.... dear readers, time for confession. Who else does all the Facebook quizzes? Who is not even on Facebook?

44 comments:

  1. Oh, dear . . . I am so horrible about the whole social media thing.
    I only have a Facebook account because my Virginia daughter set it up for me. Occasionally I actually remember to log in so that I can see what grandbaby pictures she has posted. Thankfully, she also posts cute pet pictures, so I see those adorable animals, too.
    Occasionally I’ll see something in an author newsletter that sends me off to check out their Facebook page, but it’s definitely not a regular thing.
    That’s it. No quizzes, no hanging out.
    My favorite way to ignore all the things I ought to be doing? Reading a book . . . .

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    1. that sounds divine, Joan, don't get sucked into the black hole!

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    2. Joan, that is great! A friend set up a Facebook profile, though it is Not public. She sent me the link. However, I cannot send a friend request Nor can I send a message because of how her Facebook profile is set up!

      I do not use Facebook as much as I used to before the 2016 election.

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  2. My name is Edith, and I'm a Facebook addict. But I heard about that hacking stuff a couple of years ago, so quizzes are out. And these days I just pass over the political commentary - except for Ramona DeFelice Long's smack talk. That's always worth reading! To avoid writing I also check twitter, and Instagram (one of my sons is rarely on Fb but often on twitter and Instagram, so...), but I rarely clean, and I don't have to drive anybody anywhere. These days my required knee exercises take up a lot of time, too. Somehow doing my taxes is in the same to-be-avoided category, though. Must remedy that today!

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  3. I do a million things a day, so I can't tell anymore what is work and what is play. I like FB because it connects me to my cousins and, as Edith says, it's a place to point out the world's inequities and talk smack about the current politicians the way my grandma and grandpa did at their coffee klatch. It's also the perfect forum for sharing writer events when you live in a small state like Delaware.

    But I quit watching all TV after the election, except for Masterpiece. If I want to be entertained, I'm reading a book.

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  4. I was pretty late to join Facebook...I joined in 2016. I found it a great way to connect with mystery authors, publishers and the reader community. Before that, I only lurked on mystery blogs such as JRW.

    But I have certainly found that Facebook can be a time consuming black hole! Thanks for the tips about the quizzes. I rarely do them, and will stop now that I see they are harvesting more info. I like technology but no Twitter, and limited Instagram and Pinterest for me. And I gave up cable TV last September and don't miss it at all.

    I was on a FB/social media hiatus detox earlier this year in February. Sorry about that but I found that I was NOT reading as many books as I wanted to!! But I am now back on FB & JRW (kind of) since I am now well ahead of my 2017 Goodreads challenge goal (I was well behind in January). Except now I have been travelling (Iceland last week, now Hawaii) so my online presence will still be a bit irregular. And I won't be the 2nd commenter (after Joan) on JRW for a while since I am in Hawaii which is 5 time zones behind Ontario!

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    1. Have a great time in Hawaii Grace--sounds wonderful!

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    2. Thanks, Lucy! The weather has been sunny and warm so far, and I have been having fun before LCC next week. But I am still jet lagged, hence the time of this post.

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    3. Sunshine and books! A perfect combo! Have a great time, Grace!

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  5. No quizzes, no games--anything that needs my contact list, etc., in order for me to answer 10 questions , etc., forget about it! FB is a way for me to stay connected--like Ramona, I've got nephews, cousins, and friends scattered everywhere--it's a great way to share photos, news, keep in touch. In terms of writing, or not writing--the oldest procrastination in the book--I'm stuck and I can't figure out how to get unstuck. So, go buy cat food, dust the pianos, try that new recipe, and check out FB.

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  6. Rhys, another wonderful post as usual! This is really tough! I stopped taking Facebook Quizzes a while ago because every time I took them, my computer either stopped working or I would receive ads that I could not close down!!!

    When I started Facebook, I used to log in more often than I do now. My boyfriend introduced me to Facebook. For me, it helps me stay connected to relatives, old and new friends. Sometimes I meet new friends at noisy social events and I do not catch their names. I check out mutual friends and then I get their names when I can match faces and names. So when I see them again, I can remember their names!

    Regarding quizzes, I still take Quizzes if they are asked by my favorite politicians or organizations that I know very well. And I wonder if it is OK to taje Quizzes on Goodreads?

    Have a wonderful time in Hawaii for LCC. Wish I was going!

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  7. Does anyone else remember what Gone Girl's Amy Dunne does for a living? She writes those magazine quizzes. 'Nuff said.

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    1. Haha! I never take them but now I will run in the other direction.

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    2. That was such a smart choice--because they are so manipulative, right? You can make them come out any way you want..
      HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALLIE!

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  8. Yes, Jenn! The Cosmo quizzes! I loved them back in the day. I got sucked in on a lot of Facebook quizzes in the beginning, too, but quit them once they started asking for access to all my lists. I do spend a lot of time on Facebook because I enjoy reconnecting with friends--including my very first best friend, whom I haven't seen since I was maybe five or six. I can now keep track of friends from all the eras of my life. I approach Facebook as a sort of digital newspaper, where all the news is about people I like. I have cut back on it some, though, because several of the people I like are posting every alarmist political thing they stumble onto, and I haven't figured out how to filter them. Pictures of puppies, kitties, babies, and new cars are great. I love to hear epic vacation stories, or watch landscaping projects evolve. And yes, I use it as a brain break when I'm writing or working on other stuff, but I may have to look into that Waste No Time program. After a while it's time to get back to the real world. I can't let the Internet cut into my reading time, can I?

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  9. Oh Rhys, I was so glad to hear that someone else felt the way I did. I was so disappointed to learn the risks associated with the quizzes. I mean, I had always tried to exercise a certain amount of care, and wouldn't take the quiz if it requested access to non-public info. But now my understanding is that it doesn't matter -- the bad guys can get into my non-public info anyway. So I have sadly sworn off the quizzes.

    I waste far too much time with Facebook, and I feel like the language of addiction really applies. I am in the process of trying to limit the times I allow myself access, and sometimes it really does feel like the way other people describe jonesing for a cigarette or a drink, the way it seems to call to me in the middle of what should be productive time in the day. "Aw c'mon, just a little peek? It will only take a minute..."

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  10. No Facebook quizzes for me. I work in tech, so I knew the security risk a long time ago.

    Facebook and I have a complicated relationship. See, at the day job, I have Facebook open all day (like now) and I pop over frequently - because my work is so streaky. There are days when I'm busy and days when there is literally nothing to do because projects are ending or just beginning and my work isn't in the "cycle" yet. So Facebook saves me. I have friends and family scattered all over the place, so it's a way to keep in touch. But when I get home? The computer is rarely on (unless I can steal some time to write and then the last thing I want to do is check Facebook). The Hubby and I allot one hour for TV watching, although lately there hasn't been much on (we DVR'd "Victoria" to watch on Sundays with The Girl), so we've been sitting in our den, reading.

    I don't procrastinate on the writing, though. There is so much other "stuff" consuming my time - day job, kids, house - that when the opportunity to put some words down presents itself, I seize it with both hands and don't let go (not willingly at least)!

    Mary/Liz

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    1. I wasn't too thrilled. I didn't ever feel there was that spark that there certainly was in The Crown. She came across as a self-centered, spoiled little miss and Albert as cold.

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    2. I haven't seen it yet. We wanted to wait until all the episodes aired and now The Girl is in NYC until Monday. As I remember, Victoria and Albert were a little "removed" from society, unlike Elizabeth II. I'll let you know what I think.

      Mary/Liz

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  11. RHYS: Some of you are so disciplined, unlike us poor addicted ones. However when I'm traveling around Europe or taking a cruise and wifi is spotty, I don't look for days and frankly I don't miss it much. And I do have to say that the current political posts upset me.

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  12. Facebook and Twitter are definitely ways I procrastinate among other sites on the internet. I don't clean to procrastinate, however. I wish I did. My condo is a mess. However, my blog and reading/watching stuff for it provides excuses not to clean. I just find other ways to put off working on my blog. :)

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  13. Laundry is my biggest writing avoidance. With a family that loves coffee as much as we do and an inability to get the mug all the way to the mouth before tipping ... we have a lot of stains. I try to write but I think about the stains, drying, setting in, becoming permanent. And I can't take it. I must scrub. I must eradicate.

    Quizzes - UGH! My poor heart broke when I found out about the FB ones. So I'll just contain myself to the Buzzfeed ones too because I am like Jenn. I never met a quiz I didn't want to take. Except maybe a few in calculus.

    As for the baby animals, Rhys, my personal favorites are Piglet in Red Rain Boots and Bunny with a Backpack.

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  14. I have tried mightily to get my FB time down, no more quizzes, very few news briefs. It is a time suck. One of the things that has worked best is getting my computer away from my favorite chair. It is now in the kitchen, and I allow myself play time while something is cooking, but usually I finish with FB about the time I finish my coffee.

    HOWEVER, I do follow some people religiously. You know who you are. I love knowing what my friends, both real time and virtual, are up to. And I am guilty of posting lots of pictures of my two dogs and my cat, known collectively as the puppycats.

    And food. I love to cook and love to show off what I am cooking. Tonight is Poulet Normande, flambe. Stay tuned.

    Happiest of birthdays Hallie. I hope your day is full of wine and cake and love and presents. xox

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    1. I wish I lived closer so I could finagle a dinner invitation! 😉

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  15. Ingrid, I just went on Longform.org and I think I shouldn't have. So many wonderful articles - and fiction! I can see I'm going to be procrastinating a lot with this one.

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  16. I do love keeping up with writer friends, and family, and especially my granddaughter! Not that I don't get to see her in real life, but I love seeing the pics and videos my daughter posts on FB. But I'm looking, not only at work, but at the huge piles of unread books teetering upstairs in my office and on my bedside table! So this week I've been doing better, and have been carrying a book or my Kindle around the house with me and on errands, reading in all the little in between times when I'd gotten so in the habit of checking Facebook or news. And I've finished two books since Monday! It's a miracle!!

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  17. I just went to longform too and might be hooked. And I was just gonna start *Brutality*. Sigh. I did a few quizzes early on and quit because I don't have the patience to wait for all the new pages to load, plus they never tell me anything interesting. I already know that my ideal celebrity wife is either Emma T or Kate B, and I don't really need to know what breed of insect I am.

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  18. Jim - I love your pics for your celebrity wife. Emma T is my idol. What breed of insect - now I want to take that quiz. LOL.

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  19. I already know I'm a dragonfly, lol.

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  20. Rhys, I think you might have seen the baby sloth sound on my FB feed. Hahaha! I do admit that I was expecting a bit more sound from them, but they were so adorable. It almost made me want a baby sloth instead of a baby goat. And, oh goats are such an obsession of mine on FB. My friends recognize this obsession and post goat items on my page, too. I'm also a fan of dog posts and the seldom seen Highland coo. Note to self: post a Highland coo picture today.

    So, I am way too addicted to FB, although I've been slightly better lately. Not sure that will last. It does eat up so much time that I could be reading or doing anything more productive than scouring the newsfeed and friends' posts. However, it is also a comforting source of connection to like-minded (book) people and friends I grew up with and family I don't see often. I have found some solace, too, in the camaraderie of those who are struggling to deal with the current political situation. Edith, I am also a fan of Ramona DeFelice Long's smack talk. And, of course, I love sharing book news on my FB page and seeing book news from others. I believe FB is an excellent promotional tool for authors and reviewers and fans to get news out about new books and deals on previous books.

    The quizzes. I know that participating in them can be dangerous to the privacy of my information, but they are so hard to resist. I really want to know who my partner in crime on FB is, and who doesn't want to know what animal is your soulmate animal. Oh, and I do need to know if I'm a literature genius or grammar queen. Too often I give in and take the quiz. I am trying to do better.

    It is March Madness now, with my team, Kentucky, playing as I type, so I need to get back to giving it my full attention. In eleven days, I will be in Hawaii, just missing LCC, and I wanted to ask here if anyone attending is staying over, so that we might get together. I already know that some of you going aren't, but I thought this would be a good place to ask.

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  21. Procrastination is/was a big issue for me especially when I was working. I learned to do the thing I liked lease at the beginning of the day. Then the rest of the work day was filled with more pleasant tasks. This still applies to housework. The kitchen is cleaned in the morning.
    I can't add anything new, I am on it for the babies, both human and otherwise. I think I might "go awww" over a baby barni
    cle.. cute is cute. I have enjoyed watching Wren and Dorothea grow. My Audrey is one month behind Dorothea.
    I still love taking quizzes; I try to find sites that have better protection like Harvard's tests on prejudice.
    March madness already? Seems like the Inauguration was yesterday.

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  22. Wait--when is March Madness?? I need to PICK! It's not time yet, though, right?

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    1. It starts on 16Mar, Hank. So 6 days to go.

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    2. We do March Madness in our middle school library! WE just finished our Sweet 16 round. This year the theme was: what fictional place would you like to visit, if only for one day? I'm rooting for Hogwarts to win!

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    3. Well, March Madness for my family usually covers the conference tournaments, which have been going on since Thursday and end Sunday. The tournaments sometimes determine what position a team will have in the brackets. The NCAA tournament brackets will be announced on Sunday, starting around 5:00 p.m. on several different channels, including ESPN. My Alma Mater the University of Kentucky won the regular conference title for the SEC, but there is still a tournament to have a tournament winner, too. We play in the semi-finals tomorrow. It's a great time of year!

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  23. I found FB to be addictive, so I now stay away from it as much as possible. I check it maybe every three or four months. The last time I was on was in November, for about an hour. So far I've been able to resist accessing it on my phone! Some people have told me there are Birthday wishes for me on FB. If any of you have sent them, thanks!

    I don't remember if I took any quizzes on FB but I will definitely avoid them in the future!

    Deb Romano

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    1. Three or four months, Deb? I'd be having serious withdrawal symptoms after three or four days!

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  24. No Facebook for me . I fear the lack of privacy.I'm told that it can be handled but I'm not confident .
    The time not " facebooking" is used reading.

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  25. I find Facebook a bit boring, and I guess that's why I've hesitated to get on the Twitter bandwagon. But I procrastinate by writing short stories. They're so much fun to write, and you get to the end while you still remember what happened at the beginning! I also read blog posts :) I'm supporting other writers, I tell myself. I also read fiction (what better to master the craft than by reading other authors) and non-fiction (research for the novels). So, it's all very useful work!

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  27. Since the 2016 election, I check in Facebook less often. Feeling very depressed after the election and I remember the Maggie Hope books and that motto "Stay Calm and Carry On".

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