EMILY SCHMITT KNIGHTLIFE EDITOR
Four Wartburg students are anxiously counting down the 40 days of Lent, waiting to sign into their Facebook profiles.
Nicole Lequia, Trisha Federspiel, Mandi Jones and Kyle Fleming gave up Facebook for Lent.
“It’s something that takes a lot of time away from my day, because I check it constantly,” Lequia said.
She checks Facebook as soon as she wakes up and finds herself logging into her profile whenever she has Internet access.
Federspiel gave up the Web site to challenge herself to do something else with her free time.
“I’m addicted to it, so I figured it would be the hardest thing to give up,” she said.
Fleming also gave up Facebook, along with other Web sites he normally spends a lot of time looking at.
“What I gave up for Lent is mindless Internet browsing, basically all non-productive Internet browsing,” Fleming said.
Since browsing Web sites, such as Facebook, is something he does every day, Fleming decided he would try to live without them. He related it to Jesus living without food in the desert.
He used to have Facebook open whenever he was near his computer, and friends knew he would respond almost immediately to a Facebook message.
Since Lent began, Fleming has found more time to spend on homework, and he has noticed an increase in his grades.
“It’s a good thing to not have that distraction and to focus on homework. But, at the same time, I’m still kind of missing it,” he said.
Jones also realized giving up Facebook would save her time.
“My roommate told me I was on Facebook too much, and I realized I was,” Jones said. “I was on it constantly. It would just always be up on my computer screen.”
Jones said she is addicted to Facebook and prepared herself for the weeks without it. A friend sent her a link to a list of tips for giving up Facebook.
Jones found dozens of Web sites and over 100 Facebook groups to offer advice to those giving up Facebook.
The Chicago Tribune published a story that listed 10 tips for giving up Facebook during Lent.
The tips included joining a real group to replace virtual groups, writing down birthdates that will occur during Lent and disabling e-mail updates.
Lequia said the first week of Lent was difficult, especially because she gets e-mail updates from Facebook.
“It’s hard because I want to talk to some people who don’t go to Wartburg. But, if I really wanted to talk to them, I could call them,” she said.
Jones said she uses MSN Messenger to keep in contact with her closest friends from home, so she doesn’t feel completely isolated.
The four students agreed that they will limit their Facebook use when Lent is over.