reclaiming stolen focus

Believe it or not, there's a meetup for that!

I attended its third meeting this afternoon.

It's called Coastal Social Media Detox and we met at... a book store.

Shades of Philo Cafe!

The purpose of the group is to get folks into face-to-face conversations and off things with screens, like cell phones or tablets or other computers.

In particular, the young man in charge of the meetup, Michael L., has read a book, "Stolen Focus", that has sparked this one-man drive to find alternatives to social media outlets - facebook, linkedIn, instagram, et alia.

I took the pre-meeting homework assignment seriously.

He had asked that attendees consider three questions.

 

1. "For what purposes do you currently need social media platforms?"

I wrote: Staying in touch with far-flung friends and family, in particular for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and such; seeing photos of grand-nieces and grand-nephews."

2. "For what reasons do you wish that you would use social media platforms with less frequency?"

I wrote: fb is the only one still used, and that's 1 or 2 times a week, generally.

3. "What are some alternative options?"

I wrote: Old-fashioned cards and letters in the mail! Also calling, texting, meeting in person for lunches or dinners or movies.

 

Today, with my replies in hand, I met with Michael and Andrew at Barnes & Noble at Oglethorpe Mall. 

Michael served as conversation guide, making sure we other two each had a turn.

I was the oldest one and I've had more experience at keeping my focus w=from getting stolen... except, perhaps, from playing mahjong. We all admitted the addictive qualities of such online games, and their solitary nature, enhancing solitude. Even those games played online with faceless others lends a false sense of community.

I do wonder if Michael is gathering data for a special project, such as a master's thesis or some other school effort.

He applauded my idea of "love in the mail", so that made me happy to be there.

Both he and Andrew are young enough that computers and cell phones would have been everywhere by the time they were in elementary school; it's what they've known all their lives, and now they're ready to make a change.

I'll be interested to see what direction the group takes in the future.

I know the leader is trying to spark more attendance and has had flyers made; he liked my idea of posting them at the Little Libraries around this area.

It certainly gave me food for thought, so I call that successful.

(smile!)

Afterward, I'd gone walking around in the coolness there, checking out the stores.

There were a few that I didn't find, but there were plenty of new ones, too.

This one, for example, was near a fountain, and I almost laughed out loud!

If not for the group of folks entering the jewelry store, I would have, but I had been concerned that they might misunderstand my glee.

Perhaps the reason the store's name tickled my funny bone was this:

the two men at the meeting and myself had used that very phrase when parting!

Okay, here's what to do: sound out the name, speaking it aloud.

I'll wait...

*

*

*

isn't it a hoot?!!!

When I shared it with Josie, she got a chuckle out of it.

She told me that when she was in Ghana, quite a few of the stores there would have humorous names like that!

How about that?!!

(smile!)

It really livened me up, so I decided to look for new shoes.

Shopping is not something I like to do, and shopping for shoes is especially loathsome.

I looked in several windows but didn't like the prices, so I moved onward, heading back to the exit that would lead to my car.

Right there was Shoe Show, with a big sale going on... so I looked.

I spotted this pair on a table up front, but those were the only shoes of that style.

I must have spent thirty minutes looking around, trying shoes on, putting them back.

Then I returned to the pair of Skechers that had first caught my eye.

Were they my size?

Wonder of wonders, they were.

But were they on sale?

Surprisingly, they were!

They'd been marked down from $48 to $25, most likely because they were the last of that style in inventory.

And were they comfortable?

Incredibly, they didn't adversely impinge on my toes or heels...

hooray!

Right place, right time!

(smile!)