As I wrote a few days ago, my quest for simplicity over the past couple of years has taken a lot of different twists and turns. One of the things that I've dramatically simplified is my social media. I know a lot of people will find this unbelievable but I quit Facebook.
Now Facebook has a lot of really wonderful characteristics. It allows us to keep up with friends who are scattered across the country. We can get quick updates on events and community issues and photos of loved ones in a way that even email could never allow. It's instantaneous and far reaching and that's it's strength.
But it's also incredibly overwhelming. How do you cull a list of "friends" in order to actually keep up with your friends? I just had a lot of trouble managing everything that was coming my way. And oh the time that it sucks. I'm not against time sucks, but there are blogs and magazines and books that offer so much more depth and meaning. That's where I want my time to be sucked away.
I wasn't getting much personal value out of Facebook. I was, however, looking at other people and their trips and projects and ideas and then questioning my own abilities and ambitions. It's the act of comparison that gets me into trouble. Remove the opportunity to compare and I remove a lot of mental chatter. That's a good thing for me.
Plus, I think there's something to opening up your mind and heart to hear God's voice. The little space we have left over each day after work, activities, chores, and duties is particularly precious. I know I don't protect that time well enough. There's so much work I have to do in that area, but closing down Facebook is something I think might be helpful to me.
So I deactivated my account. And I don't miss it that much.
As for my close friends, they have blogs and we email and I haven't really lost anything. In fact, I really love blogs, which proves I'm not anti-social media, just more in favor of streamlining it. I think blogs are a fantastic way to keep everyone up to date. I hope you will start one yourself, if you haven't already. Will I ever go back to Facebook? Oh who knows... maybe. Certainly there are good reasons to use it. I just know that this break is good for me.
Welcome! We're just your average family, trying to maintain our sanity and keep our sense of humor while raising two beautiful children and surviving suburban life. Contact me at hithereMaggie@gmail.com
2 comments:
I've loved the way I pared down what/who I see in my FB feed, but you've almost convinced me to ditch it all together. The thing I'd miss most is not as much the people interaction (because how much do my closest friends post there anyway), but I get most of my info on Dallas/New York events, restaurants, etc.... from FB and I've found it to be the easiest/most efficient place for that.
Susan, that would be a good reason to keep it. If it can be managed to actually provide meaning/information/ etc, I think it's a good tool. I know Ann told me last year that she will post when she's heading out to a certain park and her mom friends will meet up with her. That's a good use also.
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