Dilemmas of existentialism online and offline

If I communicate, I exist; If I communicate, I don't have time to exist...

Slide to stop alarm.  Tap to snooze. 12 notifications, missed call, 3 SMS. 6:00 am. Then I wake up. 

Next, I get Facetime call from my mom. Then Skype reminds me that it is my cousin’s birthday.

Then there is an annoying notification circle indicating the number of missed friend's activity on social media while I was sleeping on Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, Vk, Viber, Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn. And I have to check them all I really feel like I have to. Because if I don’t I will feel like I'm ignoring part of my social life. Or at least those red circles look really annoying to me. Next hour I spend reading all news on various newsfeeds, because it won’t be possible to catch up later. Ant then I can't show up in public space without knowing the latest news. It's D.C. 

I try to be productive, I really do. I manage to avoid my IPhone for several hours during classes or work. Still, I compensate those hours later. Someone calls it procrastination. I call it   

Basically, taking out small details of life, the day looks like this:

Yeah, does not look very entertaining.  Being human being involves little bit more than this. But what? Why the life now imprisoned in social media? What is social media?

LIFE DILEMMA: 

Checking social networks and media hundreds times a day or one time but for hours actually occupy a huge portion of time in day. Not only time is dedicated to social media, but also attention.

I used to block social networks when studying, but now, I simply cannot afford it. Multiple group projects I'm involved communicate via Facebook messenger, my classes do logistics in Facebook groups, my boss sends me works on Facebook. I tweet for my class; I look for job on LinkedIn. Moreover, when Facebook is blocked, I cannot login in hundreds of websites since I signed up with my Facebook account.

I have a Zero policy for myself  - the inbox and notifications should be as close as possible to zero before I go to bed. It helps me not to forget important communication and also sort crap from actual content. Still, give me 25^th hour to finish up social media responses.

SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA:

Checking social networks and media hundreds times a day or one time but for hours supposed to bring some results or products, but what are they? So what is Facebook now? What will be its purpose in a year, 2, 5, 10. Mindlessly scrolling through posts clicking through bizarre photo albums of cute or sarcastically smart images and  skimming updates from people in whose lives I barely interested and wondering why and how I end up reading these posts and liked them. Is it prodictive?

YES! I strongly believe and want to believe that social media have benefits. First of all, it is a learning process. With every page you get some of your brain memory occupied by new information. Second, it is social. I think that I’d never bother myself to remember half of my friends if not social media. Third, it accumulates social capital (academically saying it is expected benefits derived from contributing to the community). In social media in very primitive way it means when you comment and like posts of people, they will eventually help you with something or pay you back. Isn’t it great?

Enjoy your life and social media!