Facebook

So, I had to deactivate my Facebook account. I feel like I lost a friend. After a week, the thing I miss most is sharing my wit and wisdom with the world. Isn't that sad? Sometimes I have this hilarious or profound thought and I think about which wall in my house I should write it on.

As far as how the last week + has gone, I don't miss seeing what people ate for breakfast, spending endless hours looking at someone's photos who I wouldn't speak to if I saw them on the street, seeing 100 repeat posts about the same thing, reading the same complaints from the same people, debating about how rude it would be to delete so and so as my friend and having Andy ask me if I was checking my Facebook again. These are things I do not miss.

However, I do miss funny statuses, breaking news (seriously, every huge news story in the past two years has been broken to me by one of you on FB), recipes, hearing what is happening with people I like, links to great blogs and articles, and connecting with people I might not otherwise connect with. I do miss having something that can fill every open minute (and the not so open ones that seem to demand I check my Facebook). I do miss those things.

If you want to know why I got off Facebook, I will tell you the honest truth. Three reasons.

1. I honestly could not tally the number of hours I have spent on FB. In a day, I bet I could check it 50-100 times and still feel like I missed something. I would classify my use as addictive and unhealthy.

2. I really started to hate myself. Not just for reading the accounts of everyone's "wonderful" life (as we all portray on FB, myself included), but for all the time I was wasting on this thing that didn't really connect me (in a deep way) to anyone.

3. Connection. I thrive on deep, deep relationships and instead of pursuing those I'm wasting all day at the computer.

These are the reasons I deactivated my account. I am not proposing that any of these things are true for you or that you should get off Facebook. If you have a Facebook and check it 100 times a day and it makes you happy- good! If you love Facebook- good! I really love Facebook, too. But I didn't find I was able to use it in a way that brought much benefit and instead just brought lameness to my life. If you have tips on how I could use it as a tool to enhance a healthy life- I'd love to hear them!

So, where do I go from here? As soon as I finish detoxing, I'll let you know. But I have a feeling it involves picking up the phone and finding out how people are doing and what is happening in their life. As a side-note, my smart phone has suddenly been reduced to an actual telephone, a map, texting and a web browser now that I don't have email on my phone, I spend significantly less time handling it.