Facebook Fasting and Thoughts
I was talking with a friend this evening and I realized something. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I love being able to see what friends on the other side of the country are doing, or see that people have found true love or are expecting a new bundle of happiness, but at the same time, I hate it.
I hate what social media has turned us into. I hate that I have a hard time going 10 minutes without picking up and checking my phone. I hate that it interrupts time with my family, friends and significant other. I hate how easy it has become to pretend to be someone or something that we aren't simply by cropping other people out of a picture or posting only the really good (or really bad) side of a story. I hate how easy it is to make a passive aggressive comment or share a picture that we "just agree with" when really it's supposed to be a subtle dig at someone we are secretly hoping sees that post.
Social media, in many ways, has killed the relationship. Most millennials do not even know how to communicate openly in a face to face setting. Heck, most of us Gen-Xers aren't that great at it either. In my case, I'm starting to really see it for what it is...a way to avoid doing things. I can "take a break" to scroll Facebook and end up losing track of time for far too long and not get my household work or school work done, or even worse, I can end up ignoring the people I care about the most. I'm ashamed to admit, I've only half listened to things my son has been excited to tell me far too many times because I was distracted by a funny meme online.
It also can open the door for bad things to happen. While I know the majority of people I know use social media purely for fun and for keeping up with their friends and family members, there is a much darker side to it all as well. We probably all know someone who either met someone online and it ruined a relationship, or they were solicited pictures or propositioned inappropriate conversation through some type of social media. It isn't worth the risk. It isn't worth chance of causing someone else in your life to even remotely question who you might or might not be talking to. If it causes concerns, it's a no brainer. Real people over social media.
Finally, social media makes it far too easy to compare. While it is fun and interesting to get a glimpse into the lives of others, all we get is a glimpse. It's easy to assume someone has a "perfect life" when you get a snapshot here or there and a peppy update once or twice a day. While I know some share all sides of the story, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule, and it becomes easy to start worrying about keeping up with the Smiths or the Joneses or the Whites and start missing out on the great life we have to live right in front of us.
That being said, I'm tired of comparing. I'm tired of wondering how many people care about what I have to say or even to a point basing my self worth on the number of comments or likes I get on a picture or post. I'm not deleting Facebook...yet. I'm giving it the 40 days. If at the end of that time I don't miss it, I'm simply going to download all of my pictures from facebook and delete the account. What started as fun and way to keep in touch with people out of state has become a distraction and, in some ways, a way to self destruct. I'm not willing to let that happen.
I hate what social media has turned us into. I hate that I have a hard time going 10 minutes without picking up and checking my phone. I hate that it interrupts time with my family, friends and significant other. I hate how easy it has become to pretend to be someone or something that we aren't simply by cropping other people out of a picture or posting only the really good (or really bad) side of a story. I hate how easy it is to make a passive aggressive comment or share a picture that we "just agree with" when really it's supposed to be a subtle dig at someone we are secretly hoping sees that post.
Social media, in many ways, has killed the relationship. Most millennials do not even know how to communicate openly in a face to face setting. Heck, most of us Gen-Xers aren't that great at it either. In my case, I'm starting to really see it for what it is...a way to avoid doing things. I can "take a break" to scroll Facebook and end up losing track of time for far too long and not get my household work or school work done, or even worse, I can end up ignoring the people I care about the most. I'm ashamed to admit, I've only half listened to things my son has been excited to tell me far too many times because I was distracted by a funny meme online.
It also can open the door for bad things to happen. While I know the majority of people I know use social media purely for fun and for keeping up with their friends and family members, there is a much darker side to it all as well. We probably all know someone who either met someone online and it ruined a relationship, or they were solicited pictures or propositioned inappropriate conversation through some type of social media. It isn't worth the risk. It isn't worth chance of causing someone else in your life to even remotely question who you might or might not be talking to. If it causes concerns, it's a no brainer. Real people over social media.
Finally, social media makes it far too easy to compare. While it is fun and interesting to get a glimpse into the lives of others, all we get is a glimpse. It's easy to assume someone has a "perfect life" when you get a snapshot here or there and a peppy update once or twice a day. While I know some share all sides of the story, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule, and it becomes easy to start worrying about keeping up with the Smiths or the Joneses or the Whites and start missing out on the great life we have to live right in front of us.
That being said, I'm tired of comparing. I'm tired of wondering how many people care about what I have to say or even to a point basing my self worth on the number of comments or likes I get on a picture or post. I'm not deleting Facebook...yet. I'm giving it the 40 days. If at the end of that time I don't miss it, I'm simply going to download all of my pictures from facebook and delete the account. What started as fun and way to keep in touch with people out of state has become a distraction and, in some ways, a way to self destruct. I'm not willing to let that happen.
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