"Should I delete my facebook account?"
It struck me funny because I've never considered such a thing. I thought to my self that maybe it was God prompting me so I decided to pray about it and think on it for a while and see if it is indeed something that would benefit me.
As the days passed, I just kept thinking about if it brought anything positive to my life. I honestly couldn't come up with much but I could come up with story after story of how I either upset someone or I was upset by someone else.
I know that this world doesn't revolve around me and a lot of what people put on there is not primarily for my consumption. At the same time, it is there for me to read and if I am getting upset or offended by things, isn't it my responsibility to stop reading it? How much of that stuff would I be completely oblivious to if I were to just not get on Facebook multiple times a day.
So here's my decision.
I have removed Facebook from my phone. I no longer have instant access to whether or not you are eating a sandwich, going to the gym, or are annoyed by the clerk at Wal-Mart.
I will leave my account up for now since it is the only way some people communicate, but I am going to limit how often I access it.
I love my blog and since my Dad passed it has been a very cathartic tool towards healing. It's also a tool to show our distant family what's going on and how much our children are growing.
But, I also have total strangers who read my ramblings and feel a familiarity towards me and I haven't even met them. I actually had someone greet me by name that I had never met and found out later in the convo that they read my blog and knew a lot about me. It's not that I don't appreciate my readers, I do I really do! It's that it almost steals an opportunity for us to get to know each other vs you knowing me and I couldn't pick you out of a lineup. It actually detracts from making true friends I think.
I will continue to blog about this and that, but I'm going on a Facebook hiatus. If you message me via FB I will get an email alerting me and I will respond, or you could use my personal email or here's a thought...call me or come by! I always have coffee at the ready.
Philippians 4:8
New International Version (NIV)
8 Finally,
brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
4 comments:
I'm with you on FB. I find it to be a distraction. I've actually been sad or depressed by things friends have posted. It is removed from my ipod so I can't check it so much. I would dump it again completely if it werent' the only connection to some family members, or programs the boys are members. Why can't they send out emails anymore when practice has been changed?
Great verse. We do have to monitor what we let in to our lives.
Great post.
I can honestly say that I really don't like Facebook for the most part. I think it is silly and very self centered the things that most people post. However, I can't say enough great things about our homeschool Facebook group. My boys wouldn't be in Karate, their enrichment program, field trips or weekly park days without that group so I won't be getting rid of it any time soon. I do have mine set up so the posts go to my email and I only get ON Facebook if it is something that I want to discuss otherwise it is delete delete delete. I also only subscribe to the feeds of people I actually want read about and yes, you are one of them :)
Oh, and when your kids are older and on Facebook, you will definitely want your account :)
Alisa, your points are exactly why I'm not cancelling it altogether. I just have been spending too much emotional energies on it and need a break from all the "silly self centered" parts. I agree the homeschool hookup is a blessing and I look forward to doing more with it this next year. It meant so much to the kids and I to just be a part of a group of like minded peopled since homeschooling can feel isolating at times. I also have it set up to send me emails so I can actually go a day without getting on and before that was a rarity. I accessed it hundreds of times a day via my phone. There just needs to be some balance for me.
I've recently been feeling the same way. I've also been going through a facebook "cleansing". I've been deleting people that I just don't really know or talk to or people who constantly post offending statements. I am glad you are keeping your blog though. I try to check it everyday to see if you have posted anything new. Through this site you have been an incredible model for me, and at times a comic relief. :)I really appreciate everything you post Shannon!
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