Face(b)hooked!!!

The last time I decided to take that five-minute breather and indulge myself to a quick peek into FB, the clock went on an overdrive and the five minutes translated into a full blown half hour.  On landing back from my social-media breather trip, I learnt that half an hour was enough to burn, char and scorch that super-tasty dish that took your entire morning to cook up and just about required a last five minutes to simmer to perfection (about the same time you decided to take a breather) and that half an hour was more than enough time for a toddler to unintentionally flood the bathroom when she actually went in to fill her cup with water for a session of painting.

Thankfully, Facebook had a solution to my charred dish and utensils but is yet to find one for flooded bathrooms.

Can you blame yourself for getting carried away as your emotions (jealousy and may be a twinge of ‘feeling sad for yourself’ to be precise) get the better of you, when you see the picture of that perfect couple dressed to perfection with their perfect children set in the perfect place, their face glowing with happiness (and contentment) as they smile to the camera. I will be happy to inform you that after a particular friend (couple) uploaded her ‘perfect’ family picture on FB, it came to my realization that I very well know that this is a regular couple who fights with one another as much as they love each other, have children who smear ketchup and sauce all over their face and their parent’s ‘perfect’ white designer dresses, throw tantrums, scream and roll when they are at the mall; and as for the ‘perfect place’ it was that beautiful park down the road.

Let’s just say, all that glitters is not gold or platinum or diamond cut to perfection!

Then there are those five-minute workout session videos that you save but never do. But a video of that divine, calorie-laden fifteen-minute cake making video loaded with Oreo biscuits and KitKat fingers baked to perfection can not only get your tummy rolling and your taste buds tickling, it will also cause you to scroll back to once again check out that five-minute workout session!

There are those super-easy do-it-yourselfers that claim the varied extraordinary uses of the humble paper clip or the metal hanger in our daily life. A hopeless do-it-yourselfer myself, I ended up watching a ten-minute video on zillion ways that a metal hanger can be twisted and turned to make life more resourceful and this got me imagining the creator’s home instead of incorporating her ideas. Twisted hangers held flowerpots, mobile phones, tea cups, cutlery, scarves, belts, even toilet paper!

Thank God for those many quotes that reminded you of how lucky you were to see another day with a roof over your head that follows an update about your best friend having ‘checked into’ that one restaurant or destination that you have been eternally wishing to visit.

I am a big fan of the social media, FB in particular. What other platforms can get the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian on your friend list! FB has found your first friend from your Kindergarten class, FB has helped you reunite with that brother/sister you lost as a child when you and your family visited the ‘kumbh mela’, FB has broken borders and found your grandfather’s best friend who now resides in Pakistan, FB has helped  me share my views and write-up with my dear friends!

If only FB could add a pre-set timer to their resources that rang an old-fashioned irritating tune throwing you back to reality or a panic button that soundlessly brought to your attention that your boss is in the vicinity when you have decided to take that five-minute FB breather after hours of back-breaking work!