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Mom Gives Daughter $300 for Facebook Fast
Filed under: In The News
Is it time for your kid to go on a social media diet? Credit: Dan Kitwood, Getty Images
A mom in South Carolina offered her college-age daughter $300 to abstain from Facebook for one month, and pour the hours she would have spent online into studying, instead.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Melynda Rushing of Rock Hill, S.C., offered her daughter, Alyssa, 20, the cold, hard cash to get the student to detox from the popular website. Alyssa Rushing tells the Observer she was spending between three and four hours a day on Facebook.
Alyssa, a student at the University of South Carolina, tells the newspaper she has about 900 Facebook friends and logs on to the site whenever she has a break in her day. She says she also spends time reading status updates, chatting and sending instant messages at night.
Mom Melynda is also a Facebook user, but only as a means to communicate and keep up with what her kids are doing online. She tells the Observer the idea for the 30-day Facebook cleanse came from her own history with that antiquated medium, the television.
She says she once swore off TV, and was "amazed' by what she could get done in the hours she normally would have been watching the boob tube. Melynda adds that she knows first-hand how distracting Facebook can be.
"Something simple that should take three minutes, you get off on rabbit trails and before you know it 40 minutes have gone," she tells the Observer.
Alyssa, who reports that her grades were just fine prior to the challenge, made it through the entire 30 days with a little help from her offline friends. Her roommates changed her account password and refused to share it with her, and she swears that she never cheated.
That's not to say that the challenge was simple; about halfway through the challenge, Alyssa jokingly said she missed the social network so much she was going through "Facebook detox."
So, what did she get done in those 30 days? She turned in several papers before they were due, but her mom reports that Alyssa was primed to get back online on Oct. 19, the day her challenge ended.
"She made it to the end but was very anxious" to get back on Facebook, Melynda tells the Observer.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 3)
10-27-2010 @ 8:12PM
ms.r said...man i dont want it for anything .i should sign in and take that challege lol
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:14PM
Vetman said...This article is as stupid as Facebook!
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:14PM
liguy said...No big deal, I've gone 53 years without Facebook, no problem.
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 11:16PM
Sierra said...mmmmmm i wonder why? maybe because your a little too old for the techy stuff? or just not with it these days, my great grandma is probably older then you and she has one!
10-27-2010 @ 11:21PM
cheryl said...@ liguy... You're on it NOW THOUGH, HUH!!!
10-28-2010 @ 5:22AM
Jess said...I am 33 and have never signed on to facebook. Oh and facebook is hardly techy. Anyone with half a brain can use it. Some of us just have better things to do. What a huge waste of time these network sites are. I would rather put the hours many spend behind the computer doing other things. there is a big world out there!
10-27-2010 @ 8:15PM
Jan said...How pathetic it would be to find oneself in a situation where you couldn't go without Facebook for a month. I quit several months ago and believe me, I haven't missed it for a nano-second. These people need to live their lives and get away from the computer for awhile.
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:27PM
Dusty754 said...You nay have stopped using facebook several months ago, but as far as facebook is concerned, you are still there. The only thing you could do is deactivate your account, but you can sign in using your sing in name and password and you will get a welcome back and an e-mail telling you that you have re-activated your account. Facebook is like a black hole. Once you pass the event horizon (get an account) you can never get out.
10-28-2010 @ 4:29AM
Blurgle said...@Jan: Get away from the computer for a while. You mean like not reading blogs connected to AOL and commenting on them? :P You do know you used a computer to post your message, right? ;)
10-27-2010 @ 11:32PM
ann clark said...I was a facebook junkie! I changed my status several times a day. I agonized if someone commented, or not, on my status. If I was not on the cell phone facebook, i was on it on my ipod or my desk top or lap top~ I had it bad. Then one day I deactivated my account. It has been three weeks now and in that time I have crocheted a afghan and started on a crochet cap. My house cleaning and cooking have picked up the pace and I still dont miss face book. I also went cold turkey on cable tv but Im still in denial on that. Im going through some severe withdrawals and I am not (( LOL' ing) -pun intended. I will relaps on the tv but im done with facebook - i think! Oh yeah! I forgot I am a 60y/o female!
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:21PM
Christin said...I'm Fasting Facebook right now for a week
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:34PM
george said...FB is like CB radios, cell phones, bluetooth and IPODs. When it's relatively new, it's hot. Usually flippant, shallow personalities are the ones who can't turn loose after the initial fascination. I have a FB account but get on once or twice a month and may communicate with an old school mate. It's a dangerous avenue for young folks to innocently divulge info to predators. If you enjoy it, use it but be careful what you put out there. Remember, what goes on the net stays forever!!!!
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:57PM
Neko said...I think all social networking sites should be deleted. They may be a way to connect, but they have caused alot of bad things as well. Tons of bad publicity. Did you hear about the string of suicides recently?
One of them at least, was due to a social networking site. There are other ways to connect to people, like "writing a letter", or "calling them on the phone", etc.
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:45PM
fbuser999 said...Facebook shouldn't be totally what you do. E-mail . . . I sort of have to fast on that one lol. bu seriously, 3-4 hours?!?! that's rediculously stupid. 3-4 ours on the phone catching up. fine. facebook? no. absolutely not. I'm a user and the most I have ever spent on there is : : gasp : : 15 minutes!!!!! O_O amazing!
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 8:53PM
Mike said...Frequent users of Facebook are police and terrorists. Ok, and idiots. There, I said it.
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 9:00PM
terrie said...I am on facebook and I like it I keep in contact with my friends out of state it saves money so you don't have to use the phone and I can see all my friends children and grandchildren cause I don't get to see them to often it's a nice way to stay in touch.
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 9:05PM
joan simon said...So, Mom is out $300 and absolutely nothing was accomplished except a couple of school papers turned in, early. Would be interesting to find out what her grade was! LOL! What a waste of $300!!!!
Reply
10-27-2010 @ 9:22PM
Sue said...I just tried to apply for a job in accounting and stopped when they said they would only take applications from people that "friended" them on FB! WTF??? I don't need or want anyone knowing my personal business and it has nothing to do with my abilities
Employers are way out of line these days
Reply
10-28-2010 @ 12:44AM
Kim said...Sue, just have a facebook account for the job. Make another facebook account for personal stuff.
10-27-2010 @ 9:18PM
Jessica said...I am 15, a sophomore, and a frequent Facebook user. A year or 2 ago, I spent at least an hour on Facebook each day, probably close to 3. It was truly an addiction. My mom started saying I couldn't use the computer, trying to limit my Facebook use. I am so glad she did that because now I still use Facebook, but I don't have a NEED for it. I have found that going a few days without it is very refreshing, and also makes it more exciting to come back and catch up. Needless to say, Facebook is like everything else: to be used in moderation.
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