[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month we're following Ariel as she, GASP, quits Facebook. She made it through her first week, despiter her body shutting down (no, for real). She was fine during week numero dos, even feeling a sense of freedom. And then she had a little relapse. Let's check in and see how she survived her fourth and final week sans the 'book.]

So I have now gone four mostly Facebook-free weeks. Which is saying something considering my little incident last weekend. I swear the universe was playing games with me for my final week of this challenge.

I’m officially back on campus, which makes living without Facebook damn near impossible. How am I supposed to figure out my plans for the night without FB lining up my social calendar in a neat column organized by RSVPs of definitely yes, maybe (if nothing else is going on) and no you will not catch me there if suddenly you were the only house throwing down in Frat Land?

And if that’s not bad enough, during some Thirsty Thursday festivities, my Crackberry (and myself) experienced a little blackout. Yeah, my only connection to the world was gone. Without Facebook or a cell phone, there would be nearly no way to communicate with anyone. I took a moment to cry/freak out. How would I contact my friends to let them know I was going to be late for our Friday night pre-game?

It was almost scary how disconnected I felt. Read More »

Earlier this week I logged on to Facebook and my news feed was overwhelmed with updates on my friends joining the group “I’m single – and you’re going to have to be pretty amazing to change that!” While I normally dislike Facebook groups about random things, the title of this one hit home for me. First off, they used the right “you’re,” which is surprisingly rare on Facebook these days. Secondly, what an inspiring perspective to have on being single!

It is so easy for us single ladies to look at people in relationships and be a little jealous, or miss the stability and security that sometimes comes from being in a relationship. It is so easy to get trapped in the pattern of being in a relationship simply for the comfort that comes from having a boyfriend, any boyfriend. I know this from both personal experience and from watching so many of my friends get trapped in relationships where they are not satisfied but can’t bear to leave the security of their boyfriend behind.

Change is difficult, change is scary, and hell, I understand that better than anyone (I don’t even like changing the brand of mascara I use, let alone my relationship status!). But sometimes, as hard as it can seem at first, change is necessary. Read More »

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For the first couple of months after my college acceptance, it was all about celebration. Buying up sweatshirts and car decals on the bookstore website, networking with my future classmates on Facebook, making pro/con lists for next year’s housing choices. But recently, my future hit me as being much more real when my school’s course catalog for the 2009-2010 school year was put online for current students (as well as curious prefrosh) to use in selecting their courses. And, being the geek that I am, I perused nearly every humanities department’s section and salivated at the descriptions of the classes I’d love to take.

But my passion for intellectual pursuits poses a problem for me. While my school does not have any core requirements, there is no possible way I could take every course that interests me in four years. I plan to be an English major, but there are courses in the history, government, philosophy, religion, and film departments that sound like incredible classes. I love to learn anything and everything and I will take every opportunity to do so; yet time constraints and forces beyond my control will make it impossible for me to take certain courses. Read More »

Back in December, after receiving my wonderfully thick acceptance package; dashing around my house while screaming bloody murder; hugging my mom/dad/dog/the mortified mailman; and texting everyone on my contacts list with blazing speed, I slowed down for a moment and composed myself at my computer. Still hyperventilating yet functioning relatively well, I logged into Facebook and did a quick search for my university’s class of 2013 group, which I had been secretly stalking for the past few days as admitted students began trickling into the members list. Without a moment’s hesitation, I clicked to join the group and sat back in my chair, relishing the second my admission became official – in cyberspace.

After all, if there’s anything the technology age has taught me, it’s that nothing is true until it’s posted to the Internet for the rest of the world to see. Read More »

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I don’t know much about it yet, but I guess breastfeeding is good for your babies. So, breast milk and babies? A sensible combination.

But babies and Facebook? Not so much.

I don’t care how much Facebook is “expanding” its users. Facebook is really for college students and it should stay that way. Which is why I’m not too offended to find out that it has been removing pictures of females breastfeeding their kids.

The blog posted on USAToday said, “Karen Speed, a 33-year-old Canadian mother who describes herself as a “lactivist,” tells The (Toronto) Star that such photos led Facebook to delete her account and a support group she had established for breastfeeding mothers.”

First of all, what is Karen Speed, a 33-year-old Canadian mother/lactivist doing on Facebook in the first place? What is she possibly getting out of this? Finding out at which side of campus the next tailgate is gonna start? Checking up on her douchebag ex-boyfriend to see if he added any new skanks to his friend list?

Seriously, Karen. Seriously.

I think it’s great that mothers are reaching out to each other for support, but is it really necessary to post, what I think, are such personal and intimate photos on this particular site that is regularly monitored? Here is one of the pics that was removed from the site, and nipple or not – it may not be “obscene” as Facebook would say, but it’s still pretty needless on a college-based networking site. Read More »