When Social Media takes control of Your Life

Yeah Social Media…love it or hate it but it is everywhere.  Despite our best intentions, we can’t seem to live without it.  Social Media enables procrastinators to…well, procrastinate.  Okay, let’s rephrase that.  Social Media enables me to procrastinate.  And how do I know this?  Well…

Holed up in Havana, Cuba, without any WIFI, I am actually writing a blog post.  Today I’ve written TWO book reviews, a blog post for my cindyvinetravels.com blog and this blog post.  That’s more than I achieve in an average weekend!

It’s not that I have writer’s block.

It’s not that I don’t have a myriad of things to write about.

It’s not that I don’t have the time.

It’s that…I sort of get distracted.  I have to check my Twitter for any notifications and status updates of those in the Writing Community I belong to.  And then I have to check Facebook to see if anybody commented on my post, anybody posted something exciting that I want to comment on, anybody in either one of my Youtube FB groups, or FB writing groups or one of the Travel FB groups I belong to posted anything interesting, or asked a question I can answer.  Then I have to go on Youtube to watch the news and any new videos uploaded from my subscriptions.  In between I might make myself a coffee, or breakfast or lunch and before I know it, it’s dinner and I am WTF where did the day go?

I think I have a problem.

There is no point in having creative genes if social media stops you from wearing them.  (That was a pun!)

I love to write so why the hell don’t I do more of it?  What about the novel and cookbook I have to finish?  Okay, long story cut short.  I was nearly finished with Diary of a Dancer and the cookbook.  Both unfinished manuscripts were on my laptop that was stolen out of the principal’s office while I was doing a school visit.  True story.  To start from the beginning again on both projects that were close to completion has sort of demotivated me.  I did write The Freedom Club last year, I managed to break away from social media to do that!  However, I couldn’t break away enough to do marketing.  Yep, marketing books, t-shirts, it’s a real schlep and I’ll eagerly jump onto social media to avoid doing it.

I admit it.  Social media has control of my life.  Oh, did I forget to mention Instagram?  I did, didn’t I? And Pinterest.  I am doomed.

So, what am I going to do about it?  I guess that is the logical question.

I think I need to structure my weekends and my life a little more.  I need to block time to do my social media things, and make sure that it doesn’t encroach on my writing time.  I need to, shall I say it, become more disciplined.

I’m not going to remove social media from my life.  That would just be counter-productive.  I do need it for my marketing, and I do need to be a part of the different communities I belong to.  But, I need to restrict my access to certain times so that I can still create and not stagnate.

I can’t let it dictate how I spend my day.

And I can’t let it be the reason that I don’t have time to write.

I have the time, I just need to set little boundaries for my social media time.

Thank you Havana for no WIFI! (And I’m not being sarcastic!)

I can do this!

I will do this!

I will take back my life!

Cindy Vine is a South African author and teacher currently living in Norway.  She is the author of numerous novels including Not Telling, Defective, Hush Baby, CU@8 and The Freedom Club.  All her books are available on Amazon.com in both ebook and paperback format.  The Freedom Club is available in Spanish and Portuguese.  You can find out about her novels http://cindyvine.com

For her travel blog http://cindyvinetravels.com

For her musings http://cindy-vine.blogspot.com

Follow Cindy on Facebook https://facebook.com/cindyvinefanpage

Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @cindyvine

And, if you enjoy travel and travel videos, subscribe to her Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/c/CindyVine

Do we know what our kids are doing online?

When we were young there were no cell phones, internet, ipods, ipads, kindles.  In fact, there weren't even computers!  So actually, we have no idea what our teenagers get up to online, because when we were teenagers we didn't have the internet so we can't draw from our personal experiences.  How can we warn our kids about the online dangers when we never experienced them ourselves?  We grew up being told not to take candy from strangers.  What are we telling our kids in this technological age?

Diane Griffin is a security expert who knows all about what our kids get up to online, and believe you me, you will be shocked if you just knew the half of it. 

Diane Griffin is the founder and President of Security First & Associates. Ms. Griffin works with a variety of clients throughout the Security industry. Ms. Griffin has also worked in a wide array of fields to include training, facilitation, communications, human resources and industrial security management and Ms. Griffin is the current Chapter Chair for National Classification Management Society (NCMS), Chapter 26.

Diane's expertise in the security field and her experience as an author of books on Security Clearances helped her make a natural transition to security issues for teens and their parents.  According to Ms. Griffin, Social Media is the way to communicate with teenagers today. Parents have a lot to learn when it comes to  the behaviors of their children online.   To help parents and teachers understand today's teenager, Diane Griffin has written several books on the topic of Social Media and your teens.  She also has a helpful blog that gives good advice about the subject and valuable resources for parents
and teens on the subject of internet and phone safety on her site http://www.protectyourteens.com.  Take advantage of a security expert to help you manage this important process in your child's life.  Diane Griffin shares her knowledge about sexting.

Let’s Talk About ‘Sexting”

As a parent, you have probably already had the “sex talk” with your teenage son or daughter, but have you had the “sexting” talk? ‘Sexting’ is the practice of sending sexually explicit messages or images electronically, primarily via mobile phone. These messages and images can spread like wildfire through schools or even across the country and can even get posted on public websites—turning what may have seemed like a harmless act into one with severe consequences.

If you don’t think this is a problem with teens, think again. According to CommonSenseMedia.org, 22% of teen girls and 20% of teen boys have sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves and 38% of all teens believe that exchanging such sexy content makes dating or hooking up with others more likely. Wow, those are sobering statistics.

As a security expert, I want to help parents deal with this growing problem and keep their children (and themselves) out of harm’s way. Here are some tips from my new ebook, Safe Text: Protecting Your Teens from the Dangers of Texting: www.securityfirstassociates.com
and help small to mid size companies and individuals with their security clearance requirements.

• Give your teen clear rules on what they can and can’t do with their mobile phone.
• Learn how to use and monitor your teen’s mobile phones.
• Talk about pressures to send revealing photos. Let teens know that you understand that they can be pushed or dared into sending something. Tell them that no matter how big the social pressure is,the potential social humiliation will be hundreds of times worse.
• Remind them that once an image is sent, it can never be retrieved – and they will lose control of it.
• The buck stops with them. If someone sends them a photo, have them delete it immediately.

Link to Tour on Main Site - http://www.virtualbooktourcafe.com/3/post/2012/03/protect-your-teens-tour-with-diane-griffin.html

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Safe-Text-Protecting-Technology-ebook/dp/B004SHJDDG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1333472833&sr=8-3

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Protecting-Your-Teens-Facebook-ebook/dp/B007L40DYQ/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1333473014&sr=8-22

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Social-Media-Secrets-ebook/dp/B007M2TI52/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1333473054&sr=8-9

Don't forget to enter the contest on Facebook to win a Kindle Fire and follow the tour for more tips.

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